https://phys.org/news/2018-05-comet-c2016-r2-pan-starrs-rich.html

The Oort Cloud is perceived by astronomers as a reserve of cometary nuclei that contain ices dating back to the early solar system. Therefore, studying such comets as C/2016 R2 could provide important hints about the origin and formation of planets and other objects orbiting the sun.

C/2016 R2 was recently observed by USF's Kacper Wierzchos and Maria Womack. For their observations, conducted in December 2017 and January 2018, the astronomers employed the 10-m Submillimeter Telescope at the Arizona Radio Observatory. The observational campaign was focused on the search for carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) emission in the comet.