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Composition and Mineralogy of Nuclei Material of Short Period Comets Revealed by Recent Spacecraft Missions
Engrand, Cecile; Nakamura, Tomoki; Zolensky, Michael +1 more
We summarize mineralogical and compositional results from lab and in-situ spacecraft investigations of samples of comets 81P/Wild 2 and 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko which provide constraints to early solar system evolution. Wild 2 cometary solids were mineralogically similar to anhydrous chondritic Interplanetary Dust Particles with the exception tha…
A Comparison of Presolar Isotopic Signatures in Laboratory-Studied Primitive Solar System Materials and Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: New Insights from Light Elements, Halogens, and Noble Gases
Hoppe, Peter; Altwegg, Kathrin; Rubin, Martin
Comets are considered the most primitive planetary bodies in our Solar System. ESA's Rosetta mission to Jupiter family comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/CG) has provided a wealth of isotope data which expanded the existing data sets on isotopic compositions of comets considerably. In a previous paper (Hoppe et al. in Space Sci. Rev. 214:106, 20…
The Plasma Environment of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Henri, Pierre; Feldman, Paul D.; Simon Wedlund, Cyril +24 more
The environment of a comet is a fascinating and unique laboratory to study plasma processes and the formation of structures such as shocks and discontinuities from electron scales to ion scales and above. The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission collected data for more than two years, from the rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in …
Dust-to-Gas and Refractory-to-Ice Mass Ratios of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Rosetta Observations
Pätzold, Martin; Choukroun, Mathieu; Thomas, Nicolas +9 more
This chapter reviews the estimates of the dust-to-gas and refractory-to-ice mass ratios derived from Rosetta measurements in the lost materials and the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, respectively. First, the measurements by Rosetta instruments are described, as well as relevant characteristics of 67P. The complex picture of the activity of …
On the Origin and Evolution of the Material in 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Morbidelli, Alessandro; Snodgrass, Colin; Altwegg, Kathrin +5 more
Primitive objects like comets hold important information on the material that formed our solar system. Several comets have been visited by spacecraft and many more have been observed through Earth- and space-based telescopes. Still our understanding remains limited. Molecular abundances in comets have been shown to be similar to interstellar ices …
Origin and Evolution of Cometary Nuclei
Blum, Jürgen; Morbidelli, Alessandro; Davidsson, Björn +1 more
One of the key goals of the Rosetta mission was to understand how, where and when comets formed in our solar system. There are two major hypotheses for the origin of comets, both pre-Rosetta: (1) hierarchical accretion of dust and ice grains in the Solar Nebula and (2) the growth of pebbles, which are then brought together by streaming instabiliti…
Cometary Nuclei—From Giotto to Rosetta
Keller, Horst Uwe; Kührt, Ekkehard
We will briefly recapitulate the beginning of modern cometary physic. Then we will assess the results of the cometary flyby missions previous to ESA's Rosetta rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Emphasis is given to the physical properties of cometary nuclei. We will relate the results of the Rosetta mission to those of the flybys. A …
Cometary Comae-Surface Links
Skorov, Yuri; Kappel, David; Vincent, Jean-Baptiste +9 more
A comet is a highly dynamic object, undergoing a permanent state of change. These changes have to be carefully classified and considered according to their intrinsic temporal and spatial scales. The Rosetta mission has, through its contiguous in-situ and remote sensing coverage of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P) over the time span …
Nongravitational Effects of Cometary Activity
Keller, Horst Uwe; Skorov, Yuri; Mottola, Stefano +4 more
Nongravitational forces induced by sublimation of volatiles affect the rotational and orbital dynamics of comets. In addition to contributing to the improvement of ephemerides and of rotational models, nongravitational effects can help constrain the regional distribution and temporal evolution of cometary activity, which in turn provides input for…
Tracing the Origins of the Ice Giants Through Noble Gas Isotopic Composition
Mousis, O.; Marty, B.; Mandt, K. E. +4 more
The current composition of giant planet atmospheres provides information on how such planets formed, and on the origin of the solid building blocks that contributed to their formation. Noble gas abundances and their isotope ratios are among the most valuable pieces of evidence for tracing the origin of the materials from which the giant planets fo…