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| Image: NASA |
This is the assertion made by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) after analyzing data collected from the Deep Impact spacecraft. On July 4 of last year, the spacecraft collided with comet Tempel 1, located approximately 134 million kilometers from Earth.
The initial evidence confirming the presence of ice on comets has strengthened hypotheses suggesting that water on primitive Earth may have originated from comets.
Experts have identified three thin pockets of ice on the comet covering an area of 28 square meters out of a total of 117 square kilometers. About 6% of this ice is pure, while the remainder is mixed with dust.
Some astronomers believe that comets are witnesses to the formation of the Solar System that occurred 4.6 billion years ago.
