Search Publications
Spatial distribution of low-energy plasma around comet 67P/CG from Rosetta measurements
Glassmeier, K. -H.; Szego, K.; Nilsson, H. +22 more
We use measurements from the Rosetta plasma consortium Langmuir probe and mutual impedance probe to study the spatial distribution of low-energy plasma in the near-nucleus coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The spatial distribution is highly structured with the highest density in the summer hemisphere and above the region connecting the two …
Fractures on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko observed by Rosetta/OSIRIS
Jorda, L.; Lamy, P. L.; Lara, L. M. +50 more
The Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) experiment onboard the Rosetta spacecraft currently orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has yielded unprecedented views of a comet's nucleus. We present here the first ever observations of meter-scale fractures on the surface of a comet. Some of these fractures form polyg…
The Rosetta Ion and Electron Sensor (IES) measurement of the development of pickup ions from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Goldstein, R.; Mokashi, P.; Clark, G. +9 more
The Rosetta Ion and Electron Sensor (IES) has been measuring solar wind ions intermittently since exiting from hibernation in May 2014. On 19 August, when Rosetta was ~80 km from the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, which was ~3.5 AU from the Sun, IES began to see ions at its lowest energy range, ~4-10 eV. We identify these as ions created from ne…
Evolution of the plasma environment of comet 67P from spacecraft potential measurements by the Rosetta Langmuir probe instrument
André, M.; Carr, C.; Edberg, N. J. T. +6 more
We study the evolution of the plasma environment of comet 67P using measurements of the spacecraft potential from early September 2014 (heliocentric distance 3.5 AU) to late March 2015 (2.1 AU) obtained by the Langmuir probe instrument. The low collision rate keeps the electron temperature high (∼5 eV), resulting in a negative spacecraft potential…
Charge exchange in cometary coma: Discovery of H- ions in the solar wind close to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Goldstein, R.; Mokashi, P.; Tzou, C. -Y. +4 more
As Rosetta was orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the Ion and Electron Sensor detected negative particles with angular distributions like those of the concurrently measured solar wind protons but with fluxes of only about 10% of the proton fluxes and energies of about 90% of the proton energies. Using well-known cross sections and energy-lo…
Observation of charged nanograins at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Goldstein, R.; Mokashi, P.; Gombosi, T. I. +2 more
Soon after the Rosetta Orbiter rendezvoused with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at a solar distance of ~3.5 AU and began to fly in triangular-shaped trajectories around it, the Ion and Electron Sensor detected negative particles at energies from about 100 eV/q to over 18 keV/q. The lower energy particles came from roughly the direction of the com…
Terrestrial OH nightglow measurements during the Rosetta flyby
Piccioni, G.; Capaccioni, F.; Soret, L. +5 more
We present a study of the terrestrial hydroxyl nightglow emissions observed with the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer on board the Rosetta mission. During these observations, the OH Δv = 1 and 2 sequences were measured simultaneously. This allowed investigating the relative population of the v = 1 to 9 vibrational levels by using …