Recent results and future prospects for the spectroscopy of comets

The links between cometary science and molecular spectroscopy date back as far as ca. 1860, with the beginnings of astronomical spectroscopy and astrophysics. In these days where the real nature of cometary material was quite unknown, cometary spectra were compared to laboratory spectra. By now, although the space exploration of comets is on the verge of performing direct chemical analysis of cometary nuclei, this spectroscopic approach is still topical. Spectroscopic observations of comets allow us to determine the physical conditions (temperature, velocity field, density) of the cometary environment as well as the chemical composition of these bodies. This information is precious for understanding how comets are working and how they interact with the solar environment. It gives us clues to the origin and first steps of the formation of the Solar System. It also allows us to evaluate the possible role played by comets in the origin of life, by bringing complex molecules to the early Earth. Observations o...