Colloquia

Comets, Rosetta and the origin of the solar system

Comets have always been thought as relics from the early days of the solar system. ESA’s Rosetta mission by following the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/CG) along its trajectory, delivered for the first time not just a snapshot in time of a comet nucleus but its full time dependent evolution as it approached the sun. Just like the stone that gave the name to the mission, the wealth of data recorded provides a unique opportunity to help decipher the 4.5 billion yearlong story of the solar system. It turns out that the book is not so easy to read! In this talk, I will discuss some ways to reconcile some of the puzzling aspects of 67P/CG with the recent progress made in understanding the formation of planetary systems from the study of exoplanets.