Search Publications

Inventory of the volatiles on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Rosetta/ROSINA
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201526450 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A...1L

De Keyser, Johan; Gombosi, Tamas I.; Berthelier, Jean-Jacques +15 more

Context. The ESA Rosetta spacecraft (S/C) is tracking comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in close vicinity. This prolonged encounter enables studying the evolution of the volatile coma composition.
Aims: Our work aims at comparing the diversity of the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at large heliocentric distance to study the evolution of the …

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 291
Spectrophotometric properties of the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from the OSIRIS instrument onboard the ROSETTA spacecraft
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201525901 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A..30F

Jorda, L.; Lamy, P. L.; Bertaux, J. -L. +51 more

Context. The Rosetta mission of the European Space Agency has been orbiting the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) since August 2014 and is now in its escort phase. A large complement of scientific experiments designed to complete the most detailed study of a comet ever attempted are onboard Rosetta.
Aims: We present results for the photom…

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 204
Shape model, reference system definition, and cartographic mapping standards for comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko - Stereo-photogrammetric analysis of Rosetta/OSIRIS image data
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201526349 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A..33P

Jorda, L.; Lara, L. M.; Bertaux, J. -L. +42 more

We analyzed more than 200 OSIRIS NAC images with a pixel scale of 0.9-2.4 m/pixel of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) that have been acquired from onboard the Rosetta spacecraft in August and September 2014 using stereo-photogrammetric methods (SPG). We derived improved spacecraft position and pointing data for the OSIRIS images and a high-re…

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 194
Insolation, erosion, and morphology of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201525964 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A..34K

Jorda, L.; Lara, L. M.; Bertaux, J. -L. +44 more

Context. The complex shape of comet 67P and its oblique rotation axis cause pronounced seasonal effects. Irradiation and hence activity vary strongly.
Aims: We investigate the insolation of the cometary surface in order to predict the sublimation of water ice. The strongly varying erosion levels are correlated with the topography and morpholo…

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 193
Redistribution of particles across the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201526049 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A..17T

Jorda, L.; Lamy, P. L.; Lara, L. M. +52 more

Context. We present an investigation of the surface properties of areas on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Aims: We aim to show that transport of material from one part of the cometary nucleus to another is a significant mechanism that influences the appearance of the nucleus and the surface thermal properties.
Methods: W…

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 165
Regional surface morphology of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Rosetta/OSIRIS images
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201525723 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A..26E

Jorda, L.; Lamy, P. L.; Lara, L. M. +51 more


Aims: The OSIRIS camera onboard the Rosetta spacecraft has been acquiring images of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P)'s nucleus at spatial resolutions down to ~0.17 m/px ever since Aug. 2014. These images have yielded unprecedented insight into the morphological diversity of the comet's surface. This paper presents an overview of the …

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 154
Gravitational slopes, geomorphology, and material strengths of the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from OSIRIS observations
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201526379 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A..32G

Jorda, L.; Lara, L. M.; Bertaux, J. -L. +49 more


Aims: We study the link between gravitational slopes and the surface morphology on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and provide constraints on the mechanical properties of the cometary material (tensile, shear, and compressive strengths).
Methods: We computed the gravitational slopes for five regions on the nucleus that are…

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 117
Size-frequency distribution of boulders ≥7 m on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201525975 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A..37P

Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Da Deppo, Vania; Naletto, Giampiero +55 more


Aims: We derive for the first time the size-frequency distribution of boulders on a comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P), computed from the images taken by the Rosetta/OSIRIS imaging system. We highlight the possible physical processes that lead to these boulder size distributions.
Methods: We used images acquired by the OSIRIS Narrow …

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 104
OSIRIS observations of meter-sized exposures of H2O ice at the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and interpretation using laboratory experiments
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201525977 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A..25P

Jorda, L.; Lamy, P. L.; Bertaux, J. -L. +52 more

Since OSIRIS started acquiring high-resolution observations of the surface of the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, over one hundred meter-sized bright spots have been identified in numerous types of geomorphologic regions, but mostly located in areas receiving low insolation. The bright spots are either clustered, in debris fields close…

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 100
Photometric properties of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from VIRTIS-M onboard Rosetta
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201526307 Bibcode: 2015A&A...583A..31C

Bellucci, G.; Mottola, S.; Fornasier, S. +17 more


Aims: We investigate the nucleus photometric properties of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as observed by the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) onboard the Rosetta spacecraft. Both full-disk and disk-resolved images of the comet have been analyzed, deriving light and phase curves as well as a photometric reduction…

2015 Astronomy and Astrophysics
Rosetta 98