![]() The dusty coma and tail result from the vaporization of ices as the Sun warms the main body of the comet. It displays the hazy halo, called the coma, and tail that are characteristic of comets, as opposed to asteroids. This image of Comet 238P/Read was captured by the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on September 8, 2022. So in addition to continuing to pursue the history of ancient water in the solar system, scientists have an unexpected new quest on their hands, and will be hunting for answers in our cosmic backyard. However, carbon dioxide was missing from the map, though it is present in all other comets. If a spectrum of possible chemical compounds serves as a map of what to look for, X marked the spot of water vapor on Comet Read – a long-sought clue in the larger mystery of how Earth’s liquid water, and consequently life, first came to be. Solar system scientists took NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on a treasure hunt in the asteroid belt, and what they didn’t find turned out to be as significant as what they did. Credit: NASA, ESA The James Webb Space Telescope’s latest discovery is a tale of two detections. Comet Read was one of three comets used to define the class of main belt comets in 2006. It is especially important for Comet Read, as it is one of 16 identified main belt comets found in the asteroid belt, as opposed to the colder Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud, more distant from the Sun. This is significant, as the sublimation is what distinguishes comets from asteroids, creating their distinctive tail and hazy halo, or coma. This illustration of Comet 238P/Read shows the main belt comet sublimating-its water ice vaporizing as its orbit approaches the Sun.
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