Search Publications
Compositional and physical results for Rosetta's new target Comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko from narrowband photometry and imaging
Schleicher, David G.
We present compositional and physical results of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the new target of ESA's Rosetta mission. A total of 16 nights of narrowband photometry were obtained at Lowell Observatory during the 1982/83 and 1995/96 apparitions, along with one night of imaging near perihelion in 1996. These data encompass an interval of -61 to …
Hubble Space Telescope observations of the nucleus and inner coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Jorda, L.; Lamy, P. L.; Gutiérrez, P. J. +3 more
Context: .Following the postponement of the launch of the Rosetta spacecraft scheduled in January 2003, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko emerged as the most suitable new target. However a critical issue was the size, that is, the mass of its nucleus, as the surface module Philae was designed to land on a nucleus with a radius no larger than approxi…
The size and albedo of Rosetta fly-by target 21 Lutetia from new IRTF measurements and thermal modeling
Hora, J. L.; Mueller, M.; Adams, J. D. +3 more
Recent spectroscopic observations indicate that the M-type asteroid 21 Lutetia has a primitive, carbonaceous-chondrite-like (C-type) surface composition for which a low geometric albedo would be expected; this is incompatible with the IRAS albedo of 0.221± 0.020. From new thermal-infrared spectrophotometric measurements and detailed thermophysical…
A Spitzer Study of Comets 2P/Encke, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and C/2001 HT50 (LINEAR-NEAT)
Gehrz, Robert D.; Woodward, Charles E.; Pittichová, Jana +8 more
We present infrared images and spectra of comets 2P/Encke, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and C/2001 HT50 (LINEAR-NEAT) as part of a larger program to observe comets inside of 5 AU from the Sun with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The nucleus of comet 2P/Encke was observed at two vastly different phase angles (20° and 63°). Model fits to the spectral ene…
Comet nuclei: Morphology and implied processes of surface modification
Keller, H. U.; Basilevsky, A. T.
Surface morphology and related issues for nuclei of three comets: Halley, Borrelly and Wild 2, are considered in the paper. Joint consideration of publications and results of our analysis of the comets' images led to conclusions, partly new, partly repeating conclusions published by other researchers. It was found that typical for all three nuclei…
On-ground characterization of Rosetta/VIRTIS-M. I. Spectral and geometrical calibrations
Piccioni, G.; Capaccioni, F.; Coradini, A. +5 more
The complete characterization of complex imaging spectrometers, such as VIRTIS-M (visual infrared thermal imaging spectrometer) aboard the Rosetta mission, requires a detailed and prolonged activity starting with the instrument integration and continuing during the entire operational life of the experiment. In this article we report the main exper…
A novel principle for an ion mirror design in time-of-flight mass spectrometry
Wurz, P.; Altwegg, K.; Balsiger, H. +7 more
A novel design for a gridless two-stage ion mirror, or reflectron, for time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) will be presented. The development of this novel design was driven by the stringent engineering requirements for the ion mirror's utilization by the reflectron time-of-flight (RTOF) sensor in the Rosetta orbiter spectrometer for ion and …
Near infra-red spectroscopy of the asteroid 21 Lutetia. I. New results of long-term campaign
Barucci, M. A.; Fulchignoni, M.; Vernazza, P. +4 more
Aims.Investigation of the physical nature of the asteroid 21 Lutetia, target of Rosetta mission, is required for the completion of its ground-based science and in the frame of its future fly-by. Monitoring this object is essential in preparing the future encounter with the spacecraft.
Methods: .The asteroid was observed with SpeX/IRTF in the s…
First albedo determination of 2867 Steins, target of the Rosetta mission
Barbieri, C.; Barucci, M. A.; Fornasier, S. +2 more
Aims. We present the first albedo determination of 2867 Steins, the asteroid target of the Rosetta space mission together with 21 Lutetia.Methods.The data were obtained in polarimetric mode at the ESO-VLT telescope with the FORS1 instrument in the V and R filters. Observations were carried out from June to August 2005 covering the phase angle rang…
On-ground characterization of Rosetta/VIRTIS-M. II. Spatial and radiometric calibrations
Piccioni, G.; Capaccioni, F.; Coradini, A. +5 more
After having considered the spectral and geometrical performances of the Rosetta/VIRTIS-M experiment, we complete here the analysis by evaluating quantitatively the flat-field and radiometric responses. The purpose of this work is to retrieve the flat-field matrix necessary to homogenize the focal plane response. Moreover, the most important resul…