The Scent of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: Not What You Think

Dear reader, you who are about to grab your credit card and order that fabulous new bottle of Tom Ford Velvet Orchid to go with your new velvet berry lip and your black suede ankle boots, or you shopping for a Christmas gift of Jo Malone Wood Sage and Sea Salt for your spouse. Stop and think a little about the greater picture; outer space, to be exact!

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Yup, you heard that right, scent is a universal thing. A comet in space smells of rotten eggs, horse urine, formaldehyde, bitter almonds, alcohol, vinegar and a hint of sweet ether. Incredibly eh? Apparently researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland deciphered how the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet smells by analyzing the chemicals in its coma, the fuzzy head surrounding the nucleus, using one of the instruments aboard the European spacecraft Rosetta which is preparing to drop a lander onto the comet's icy surface on November 12. What's even cooler (if you're so inclined) is that the closer the comet comes to the Sun, the more intense the odor will become as per project leader Kathrin Altwegg from the University of Bern.

News according to Times of India reproducing metro.co.uk reportage.