Scent Of Rosetta Comet Recreated On Earth, This Is How It Smells

If you have always been curious about the smell of celestial objects, well here is one for you. Astronomers have recently created a perfume that mimics Rosetta comet's smell, and you are better off not smelling it! According to reports, the whiff of Rosetta is unpleasant, pungent and foul.

Perfumers have reportedly created a scent which captures the notes of the Rosetta comet, officially known as the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The comet, which looks like a rubber duck in shape, was the subject of the Rosetta mission. Interestingly, the perfume was commissioned by the Rosetta team astronomers to interpret the numerous smelly compounds the mission detected in the micro-atmosphere of the comet. It was found out that Rosetta's smell had hints of bitter almonds, rotten eggs and cat pee.

The Rosetta mission first detected the smell of the comet in 2014 when its sensors flew through the trailing atmosphere of the comet. The instruments of the missions recorded a variety of pungent volatile compounds which included hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia and methane, as well as odorless compounds like monoxide, carbon dioxide and water vapor.

A UK company in Oxfordshire, called The Aroma Company, was commissioned by Rosetta mission scientist, Dr Colin Snodgrass, to create the perfume of the comet based on the compounds discovered on it. However, since some of the compounds found on 67P are toxic, the perfumery replaced them with similar smells instead of using the real deal, such as hydrogen cyanide. This is also the reason the perfume itself doesn't not smell as bad as the comet, as it is a toned down version; however it is still far from being delightful.

According to a reporter who got a whiff of the perfume, the smell was not as foul as believed to be and a few floral notes could apparently be detected. The general public can also smell the perfume at London's Summer Science Exhibition held by the Royal Society in London next month. Now you know where to head in case you want to experience an out of world scent literally.