Search Publications

Land of gas and dust - exploring bursting cavities on comet 67P

De Keyser, Johan; Berthelier, Jean-Jacques; Wurz, Peter +9 more

Gas and dust outbursts are recurring phenomena on comets, offering critical insights into their subsurface activities. On comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, two distinct outburst types have been identified: CO$_{2}$-dominated 'summer fireworks' near perihelion and wat…

Thermal stresses as a possible mechanism for initiating the destruction of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

Omarov, Chingis; Shestakova, Lyubov I.; Spassyuk, Ruslan

It is now widely accepted that the breakup of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (SL9) was caused by tidal forces. This explanation applies to bodies that enter a planet's Roche zone and have a loose 'rubble pile' structure with no internal strength. Observations from the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko initially supported this hypothesis, …