Search Publications
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: the GIADA dust environment model of the Rosetta mission target
Fulle, M.; Agarwal, J.; Lopez Moreno, J. J. +13 more
Context. The ESA Rosetta spacecraft will reach the short-period comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. Orbiting strategy, orbiter safety conditions, landing scenarios and expected results from dust collectors depend on models of the 67P dust environment. Many papers already tackled this matter, analysing a limited set of observations, and theref…
Physical properties of the ESA Rosetta target asteroid (21) Lutetia. II. Shape and flyby geometry
Colas, F.; Fornasier, S.; Carry, B. +22 more
Aims: We determine the physical properties (spin state and shape) of asteroid (21) Lutetia, target of the International Rosetta Mission of the European Space Agency, to help in preparing for observations during the flyby on 2010 July 10 by predicting the orientation of Lutetia as seen from Rosetta.
Methods: We use our novel KOALA inversi…
Puzzling asteroid 21 Lutetia: our knowledge prior to the Rosetta fly-by
Barucci, M. A.; Fornasier, S.; Fulchignoni, M. +5 more
Aims: A wide observational campaign was carried out in 2004-2009 that aimed to complete the ground-based investigation of Lutetia prior to the Rosetta fly-by in July 2010.
Methods: We obtained BVRI photometric and V-band polarimetric measurements over a wide range of phase angles, and visible and infrared spectra in the 0.4-2.4 µm …
Polarimetric observations of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during its 2008-2009 apparition
Lasue, J.; Sen, A. K.; Gupta, R. +2 more
Context. Remote observations of the light scattered by comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko dust coma are of major importance for determining the physical properties of the particles and prepare the rendezvous with the ESA/Rosetta spacecraft in 2014.
Aims: Light scattering and especially linear polarization observations allow comparison between di…
Physical properties of the ESA Rosetta target asteroid (21) Lutetia. I. The triaxial ellipsoid dimensions, rotational pole, and bulk density
Carry, B.; Weaver, H. A.; Merline, W. J. +6 more
Context. Asteroid (21) Lutetia was the target of the ESA Rosetta mission flyby in 2010 July.
Aims: We seek the best size estimates of the asteroid, the direction of its spin axis, and its bulk density, assuming its shape is well described by a smooth featureless triaxial ellipsoid. We also aim to evaluate the deviations from this assumption. …
Inhomogeneities on the surface of 21 Lutetia, the asteroid target of the Rosetta mission. Ground-based results before the Rosetta fly-by
Barbieri, C.; Barucci, M. A.; Fornasier, S. +6 more
Context. In July 2010 the ESA spacecraft Rosetta will fly by the main belt asteroid 21 Lutetia. Several observations of this asteroid have been performed so far, but its surface composition and nature are still a matter of debate. For a long time Lutetia was supposed to have a metallic nature due to its high IRAS albedo. Later on it has been sugge…
Ultraviolet and visible photometry of asteroid (21) Lutetia using the Hubble Space Telescope
Stern, S. A.; Feldman, P. D.; A'Hearn, M. F. +10 more
Context. The asteroid (21) Lutetia is the target of a planned close encounter by the Rosetta spacecraft in July 2010. To prepare for that flyby, Lutetia has been extensively observed by a variety of astronomical facilities.
Aims: We used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to determine the albedo of Lutetia over a wide wavelength range, extendin…
Thermal properties of asteroid 21 Lutetia from Spitzer Space Telescope observations
Jorda, L.; Lamy, P. L.; Barucci, M. A. +3 more
Context. Asteroid 21 Lutetia is the second target of the Rosetta space mission with a flyby scheduled in July 2010. To best prepare the observational campaign, Lutetia is being extensively characterized by ground- and space-based astronomical facilities.
Aims: We used the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) to determine the thermal properties of Lu…
Multi-color, rotationally resolved photometry of asteroid 21 Lutetia from OSIRIS/Rosetta observations
Jorda, L.; Lamy, P. L.; Hviid, S. F. +2 more
Context. Asteroid 21 Lutetia is the second target of the Rosetta space mission. Extensive pre-encounter, space-, and ground-based observations are being performed to prepare for the flyby in July 2010.
Aims: The aim of this article is to accurately characterize the photometric properties of this asteroid over a broad spectral range from the u…
A large crater as a probe of the internal structure of the E-type asteroid Steins
Benz, W.; Jutzi, M.; Michel, P.
Context. The detection of a large crater (2 km in diameter) on Steins, a diamond-shape asteroid with a diameter of only about 4.6 km, was a large surprise given the size of the asteroid itself. Steins belongs to the rare class of E-type asteroids, which had not been observed by any spacecraft before the Rosetta mission of the European Space Agency…