Comet Tempel 1, the target of NASA's Deep Impact probe, turns out to be quite fragile, with no more substance than a snowbank.
Kate has posted the latest NASA article on our Scienceagogo's front page.

The comet's dust and ice grains form a fluffy structure of fine particles held together loosely by a weak gravitational pull, the researchers said
An analysis of material in the plume showed a huge increase in the amount of molecules that contain carbon. This suggests that comets like Tempel 1 contain a substantial amount of organic material, which means they might have brought life to Earth early in the planet's history at a time when asteroid and meteor strikes were common.
The research on Tempel 1 will be published this Thursday in the journal Science.
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The above para was taken from:-
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArti..._SCIENCE-SPACE-

Geez Mike, you could at least link to our article...:-)
http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20050806214520data_trunc_sys.shtml

I thought the results a bit sparse considering the amount of technology we had pointed at the collision.

So how did all this organic material accrete in yon dustball and not on our own rock (accepting the "seeds of life" premise)?

I dimly recall being taught in Jr. High that as stars form, go nova, and re-form from the detritus, they gradually create more and more complex molecules. How many generations of stars would it take to make the organic matter detected? How long would that take?

The data may be thin, but it's still way cool.

Kate: What do you mean by sparse?

There is a huge amount of data. Two things need to happen ... (1) more time to analyze it, and (2) you need to read scientific journals rather than the popular press.

Crank: You are misreading the record a bit. The so-called "metals" form and increase in multiple generations of stars going nova and supernova. The organics found were likely generated by active chemistry inside dust grains and comets.

"The organics found were likely generated by active chemistry inside dust grains and comets."

That sounds pretty neat. How's that work (for a non-chemistry type like me)?

(btw, i wasn't misreading anything because i wasn't reading anything to begin with. just a faint recollection from long-ago childhood classrooms.)

Theres two ways of looking at your reply Kate.
I did mention our 'Scienceagogo Front Page', but deliberately kept my reply sparse......knowing that readers would go back and look there for your full text.
I get the impression that there are too few comments or discussions made about the excellent materials that you post there.
i.e Our members dont use it enough, if at all.
So it was my method of providing a wake up call for those interested enough to look.

Silly of me to doubt your intentions Mike:-)