Comet 67P / Churyumov - Gerasimenko has provide the scientific world with a boniface ofremarkable discoveries , including a plethora of some of the most remarkable examples of astrophotography the world has ever discover . scientist never stop call for questions , though , and their queer idea have turn to a more special view of the distant chunk of water ice and rock : its odour .
As reported byNew Scientist , the Philae lander has been analyzing the unknown chemistry of the alien , duck - shape , spacefaring target for some metre now , and although a geological sampling wo n’t ever make it back to major planet Earth , artificial samples are being make on Earth in order for scientist to have a moment of a poking around .
Somewhat bizarrely , a so - called “ perfume ” has been created to mimic the aroma of 67 / P. Thanks to a collaboration from the Rosetta squad , the Open University and The Aroma Company , any member of the public can take their turn have a sniff if they turn up to the Royal Society summer exhibition in London this July . Do n’t expect the scents of roses or scratch , however – seemingly , it smells like rotten orchis , cat urine , and extremely bitter Prunus amygdalus .
peculiarly , the comet ’s penning is mainly piddle vaporisation , atomic number 6 dioxide and C monoxide , none of which actually have a smell that humans can discover . However , Philae has picked up on the front of ammonia ( a component of , among other things , cat urine ) , hydrogen sulfide ( a chemical find in rotting eggs ) , and H nitrile ( something that can pour out from Prunus amygdalus ) .
These are in reality harmful compounds to breathe in in prominent intensity ; as luck would have it , the artificial 67P scent here on Earth contains non - toxic chemicals that realistically assume this smell without in reality poison those having a daring whiff of it .
accord to some , the smell , although rather pungent , actually contains some floral distinction too – but it ’s tentative that anyone will ever number to enjoy the scent . It ’s actually a huge relief , then , that we live on a planet where petrichor – the smell of dampish territory after the rain – dominate our lives far more than any of these noxious smells lean to .
If you ca n’t make it to the exhibition next calendar month to feel out what 67P smell like , then there is one possible alternative : Crush up some extremely older almonds in your script as you stand above anactive volcanic ventthat a quat has just urinate in . It ’s the faithful you may ever get to live the glorious smells of outer blank .
[ H / T : New Scientist ]
