First X-ray obs of a Main-Belt Comet: linking X-ray astronomy to astrobiology

Details First X-ray obs of a Main-Belt Comet: linking X-ray astronomy to astrobiology First X-ray obs of a Main-Belt Comet: linking X-ray astronomy to astrobiology

Oct 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009xmm..prop..172d&link_type=abstract

XMM-Newton Proposal ID #06550901

Biology

Stars, White Dwarfs, Solar System, P/2005 U1 (Read

Scientific paper

We propose to utilize the unprecedented sensitivity of XMM-Newton in the soft X-ray range for the first ever X-ray study of a Main-Belt Comet (MBC). Discovered only recently, MBCs constitute a fundamentally new and distinct class of objects: asteroids exhibiting cometary activity, which is most likely driven by the sublimation of water ice. This has far-reaching implications for our understanding where our oceans came from. The evidence for water ice in MBCs, however, is only circumstantial yet, as optical spectra are dominated by dust. The situation is complementary for solar wind charge exchange induced X-rays, which are a sensitive tracer of tenuous amounts of gas. Thus, with the direct detection of gas, XMM would make a substantial contribution to astrobiology.

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