Scientists say measurements made by the ROMAP sensor aboard Europe's Philae probe, which landed on comet 67P in November, show its core isn't magnetized.
Some astrophysicists have suggested that magnetism might be responsible for aligning and then binding together rocks into larger boulders during the early stages of planet formation.But in a paper published online Tuesday by the journal Science, scientists led by Hans-Ulrich Auster at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, said their data doesn't support this theory.
Allan H. Treiman, a senior scientist at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, who wasn't involved in the study, said the results credibly suggest other forces were responsible.
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