Author name: Michael E. Zolensky

Comets: Where We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We Want To Go Next

We introduce the principal mysteries surrounding comets; discuss the proposed importance of comets to the origin of water and organic compounds in the inner solar system; and summarize the history of cometary observation, study, and exploration over the past 22 centuries.

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Extraterrestrial Water

Abundant water ice was formed in the solar nebula outward of about 4 astronomical units and, during the entire history of the solar system, has been carried into the inner solar system in icy and hydrated bodies. We do not know which sources of water dominated in the inner solar system, but micrometeorites derived from C-class asteroids may have been most important. Today, hydrous materials occur throughout the solar system from Jupiter inwards, at least. Significant quantities of liquid water are, however, probably present only on Earth and some icy moons of Jupiter and possibly Saturn.

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Halogen Record of Fluid Activity in the Solar System

Halogens are mobile in geological fluids, making them excellent tracers of volatile activity. Halogen-bearing minerals in diverse planetary materials, coupled with chlorine isotope compositions of bulk samples and minerals, can be used to infer the presence of fluids on planetary surfaces, crusts, and interiors. Halogen element and isotopic evidence helps define the role that halogens play in diverse planetary environments (e.g., asteroids, the Moon, and Mars), which offers insights into fluid activity in the early Solar System and in the role such fluids have played in volatile transport, alteration processes, and habitability throughout geological history.

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