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Detection of acetylene in the infrared spectrum of comet Hyakutake

Nature volume 383, pages 606–608 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

COMETS are rich in volatile materials, of which roughly 80% (by number) are water molecules1. Considerable progress2–4 is being made in identifying the other volatile species, the abundances of which should enable us to determine whether comets formed primarily from ice-covered interstellar grains5, or from material that was chemically processed in the early solar nebula6,7. Here we report the detection of acetylene (C2H2) in the infrared spectrum of comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake). The estimated abundance is 0.3–0.9%, relative to water, which is comparable to the predicted solid-phase abundance in cold interstellar clouds. This suggests that the volatiles in comet Hyakotake may have come from ice-covered interstellar grains, rather than material processed in the accretion disk out of which the Solar System formed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, M/S 169–237, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California, 91109, USA

    T. Y. Brooke & D. Crisp

  2. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822, USA

    A. T. Tokunaga

  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 21218, USA

    H. A. Weaver

  4. 0bservatoire de Paris-Meudon, F-92195, Meudon, France

    J. Crovisier & D. Bockelée-Morvan

Authors
  1. T. Y. Brooke
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  2. A. T. Tokunaga
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  3. H. A. Weaver
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  4. J. Crovisier
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  5. D. Bockelée-Morvan
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  6. D. Crisp
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Brooke, T., Tokunaga, A., Weaver, H. et al. Detection of acetylene in the infrared spectrum of comet Hyakutake. Nature 383, 606–608 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/383606a0

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