Search Publications
Volatiles in the H2O and CO2 ices of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
De Keyser, Johan; Gombosi, Tamas I.; Berthelier, Jean-Jacques +11 more
European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) was the first mission that accompanied a comet over a substantial fraction of its orbit. On board was the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis mass spectrometer suite to measure the local densities of the volatile species sublimating from the i…
Cometary surface dust layers built out of millimetre-scale aggregates: dependence of modelled cometary gas production on the layer transport properties
Mottola, S.; Küppers, M.; Hartogh, P. +5 more
The standard approach to obtaining knowledge about the properties of the surface layer of a comet from observations of gas production consists of two stages. First, various thermophysical models are used to calculate gas production for a few sets of parameters. Second, a comparison of observations and theoretical predictions is performed. This app…
Sensitivity of modelled cometary gas production on the properties of the surface layer of the nucleus
Küppers, M.; Hartogh, P.; Besse, S. +3 more
Explanation of the observed gas activity based on the parameters of the comet's nucleus is not an obvious matter. Solutions based on certain thermal models can be obtained, but the use of arbitrary values for poorly known model parameters is always required. In this work, we carry out a study of the dependence of gas activity on these parameters a…
Comparison of a pebbles-based model with the observed evolution of the water and carbon dioxide outgassing of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Fulle, M.; Mottola, S.; Bockelée-Morvan, D. +11 more
The Rosetta mission escorted comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for approximately two years including the perihelion passage (1.24 au, 2015 August), allowing us to monitor the seasonal evolution of the water and carbon dioxide loss rates. Here, we model 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko water and carbon dioxide production as measured by the Rosina experiment…
Sub-mm/mm optical properties of real protoplanetary matter derived from Rosetta/MIRO observations of comet 67P
Blum, Jürgen; Gundlach, Bastian; Wolf, Sebastian +6 more
Optical properties are required for the correct understanding and modelling of protoplanetary and debris discs. By assuming that comets are the most pristine bodies in the Solar system, our goal is to derive optical constants of real protoplanetary material. We determine the complex index of refraction of the near-surface material of comet 67P/Chu…
A quantitative description of comet 67P's dust and gas production remains enigmatic
Blum, J.; Gundlach, B.; Attree, N. +2 more
The mechanism of dust emission from a cometary nucleus is still an open question and thermophysical models have problems reproducing outgassing and dust productions rates simultaneously. In this study, we investigate the capabilities of a rather simple thermophysical model to match observations from Rosetta instruments at comet 67P/Churyumov-Geras…
Modelling of the processes of dunes formation on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Wesołowski, Marcin
The paper discusses selected mechanisms that can significantly contribute to the formation of dune structures on the surface of comets. In these considerations, mechanisms related to the dynamics of dust on the surface of the nucleus were taken into account. In the first step, the maximum dimensions of particles that can be entrained into the come…
N2/CO ratio in comets insensitive to orbital evolution
Mousis, O.; Jehin, E.; Anderson, S. E. +2 more
Comets are seen as depleted in nitrogen compared to the protosolar value, but a small number exhibit significantly higher than typical N2/CO ratios: C/1908 R1 (Morehouse), C/1940 R2 (Cunningham), C/1947 S1 (Bester), C/1956 R1 (Arend-Roland), C/1957 P1 (Mrkos), C/1961 R1 (Humason), C/1969 Y1 (Bennett), C/1973 E1 (Kohoutek), C/1975 V1-A (…
Distribution and dynamics of decimetre-sized dust agglomerates in the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Agarwal, Jessica; Schröter, Matthias; Lemos, Pablo
We present a method to analyse images of the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko obtained using OSIRIS, the main imaging system on-board Rosetta, where dust aggregates can be seen as bright tracks because of their relative velocity with respect to the spacecraft. We applied this method to 105 images taken in 2015 July, 2015 December, and 2016 Januar…
The source of electrons at comet 67P
Nilsson, H.; Goetz, C.; Henri, P. +8 more
We examine the origin of electrons in a weakly outgassing comet, using Rosetta mission data and a 3D collisional model of electrons at a comet. We have calculated a new data set of electron-impact ionization (EII) frequency throughout the Rosetta escort phase, with measurements of the Rosetta Plasma Consortium's Ion and Electron Sensor (RPC/IES). …