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A homogeneous nucleus for comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from its gravity field
Jorda, L.; Pätzold, M.; Sierks, H. +13 more
Cometary nuclei consist mostly of dust and water ice. Previous observations have found nuclei to be low-density and highly porous bodies, but have only moderately constrained the range of allowed densities because of the measurement uncertainties. Here we report the precise mass, bulk density, porosity and internal structure of the nucleus of come…
Aggregate dust particles at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Jessberger, Elmar K.; Torkar, Klaus; Levasseur-Regourd, Anny-Chantal +9 more
Comets are thought to preserve almost pristine dust particles, thus providing a unique sample of the properties of the early solar nebula. The microscopic properties of this dust played a key part in particle aggregation during the formation of the Solar System. Cometary dust was previously considered to comprise irregular, fluffy agglomerates on …
Exposed water ice on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Langevin, Y.; Bellucci, G.; Jaumann, R. +77 more
Although water vapour is the main species observed in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and water is the major constituent of cometary nuclei, limited evidence for exposed water-ice regions on the surface of the nucleus has been found so far. The absence of large regions of exposed water ice seems a common finding on the surfaces of many…
High-molecular-weight organic matter in the particles of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Krüger, Harald; Haerendel, Gerhard; Langevin, Yves +39 more
The presence of solid carbonaceous matter in cometary dust was established by the detection of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen in particles from comet 1P/Halley. Such matter is generally thought to have originated in the interstellar medium, but it might have formed in the solar nebula—the cloud of gas and dust that was left…
Fission and reconfiguration of bilobate comets as revealed by 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Mottola, Stefano; Steckloff, Jordan; Naidu, Shantanu P. +6 more
The solid, central part of a comet—its nucleus—is subject to destructive processes, which cause nuclei to split at a rate of about 0.01 per year per comet. These destructive events are due to a range of possible thermophysical effects; however, the geophysical expressions of these effects are unknown. Separately, over two-thirds of comet nuclei th…
Mission accomplished: Rosetta crashes into comet
Gibney, Elizabeth
Craft sends back wealth of images in 19-kilometre descent.
Planetary science: Cometary dust under the microscope
Kolokolova, Ludmilla
The Rosetta spacecraft made history by successfully orbiting a comet. Data from the craft now reveal the structure of the comet's dust particles, shedding light on the processes that form planetary systems. See Letter p.73