Comets - Chemistry and chemical evolution

Abstract

Research on the chemical composition and conditions in comets and their possible role in the origin of life on earth is surveyed. The inorganic and organic compounds and ions indicated in the ultraviolet and visible spectra of comets are noted, and evidence for the existence of at least a small proportion of complex organic molecules in comets is presented. It is then pointed out that while cometary material could have reached the earth and provided volatile elements from which biochemical compounds could have formed, it is unlikely that a cometary nucleus could have withstood the temperatures and pressures necessary to sustain an environment in which life could have originated.