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Carbon-rich dust in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko measured by COSIMA/Rosetta
Langevin, Yves; Fischer, Henning; Ligier, Nicolas +23 more
Cometary ices are rich in CO2, CO and organic volatile compounds, but the carbon content of cometary dust was only measured for the Oort Cloud comet 1P/Halley, during its flyby in 1986. The COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer (COSIMA)/Rosetta mass spectrometer analysed dust particles with sizes ranging from 50 to 1000 µm, collect…
Evidence for the formation of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko through gravitational collapse of a bound clump of pebbles
Shi, Xian; Blum, Jürgen; Della Corte, Vincenzo +19 more
The processes that led to the formation of the planetary bodies in the Solar system are still not fully understood. Using the results obtained with the comprehensive suite of instruments onboard the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, we present evidence that comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko likely formed through the gentle gravitational colla…
Organics in comet 67P - a first comparative analysis of mass spectra from ROSINA-DFMS, COSAC and Ptolemy
Balsiger, H.; Berthelier, J. J.; Fuselier, S. A. +14 more
The ESA Rosetta spacecraft followed comet 67P at a close distance for more than 2 yr. In addition, it deployed the lander Philae on to the surface of the comet. The (surface) composition of the comet is of great interest to understand the origin and evolution of comets. By combining measurements made on the comet itself and in the coma, we probe t…
Seasonal mass transfer on the nucleus of comet 67P/Chuyumov-Gerasimenko
Jorda, L.; Bertaux, J. -L.; Lamy, P. +47 more
We collect observational evidence that supports the scheme of mass transfer on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The obliquity of the rotation axis of 67P causes strong seasonal variations. During perihelion the southern hemisphere is four times more active than the north. Northern territories are widely covered by granular material …
The dust-to-ices ratio in comets and Kuiper belt objects
Fulle, M.; Colangeli, L.; Della Corte, V. +7 more
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P hereinafter) is characterized by a dust transfer from the southern hemi-nucleus to the night-side northern dust deposits, which constrains the dust-to-ices mass ratio inside the nucleus to values a factor of 2 larger than that provided by the lost mass of gas and non-volatiles. This applies to all comets becaus…
Change of outgassing pattern of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during the March 2016 equinox as seen by ROSINA
Mall, Urs; De Keyser, Johan; Berthelier, Jean-Jacques +18 more
As the spin axis of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) is not normal to the orbital plane, 67P has strong seasonal changes in the illumination conditions on the nucleus' surface, with a short and intense summer in the Southern hemisphere. We have been monitoring these seasonal variations in the gas coma with the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for…
Comet 67P outbursts and quiescent coma at 1.3 au from the Sun: dust properties from Rosetta/VIRTIS-H observations
Mottola, S.; Erard, S.; Crovisier, J. +15 more
We present 2-5 µm spectroscopic observations of the dust coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko obtained with the VIRTIS-H instrument onboard Rosetta during two outbursts that occurred on 2015, 13 September 13.6 h ut and 14 September 18.8 h ut at 1.3 au from the Sun. Scattering and thermal properties measured before the outburst are in the mean o…
Fractal dust constrains the collisional history of comets
Blum, J.; Fulle, M.
The fractal dust particles observed by Rosetta cannot form in the physical conditions observed today in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P hereinafter), being instead consistent with models of the pristine dust aggregates coagulated in the solar nebula. Since bouncing collisions in the protoplanetary disc restructure fractals into compact aggreg…
Evolution of the ion environment of comet 67P during the Rosetta mission as seen by RPC-ICA
Henri, Pierre; Alho, Markku; Simon Wedlund, Cyril +10 more
Rosetta has followed comet 67P from low activity at more than 3.6 au heliocentric distance to high activity at perihelion (1.24 au) and then out again. We provide a general overview of the evolution of the dynamic ion environment using data from the RPC-ICA ion spectrometer. We discuss where Rosetta was located within the evolving comet magnetosph…
The birth and growth of a solar wind cavity around a comet - Rosetta observations
Behar, E.; Nilsson, H.; Goetz, C. +2 more
The Rosetta mission provided detailed observations of the growth of a cavity in the solar wind around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. As the comet approached the Sun, the plasma of cometary origin grew enough in density and size to present an obstacle to the solar wind. Our results demonstrate how the initial slight perturbations of the solar win…