Title: | Dust measurements in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko inbound to the Sun |
Authors: | Rotundi, Alessandra Sierks, Holger DELLA CORTE, VINCENZO FULLE, Marco Gutierrez, Pedro J. Lara, Luisa Barbieri, Cesare Lamy, Philippe L. Rodrigo, Rafael Koschny, Detlef Rickman, Hans Keller, Horst Uwe López-Moreno, José J. ACCOLLA, Mario Agarwal, Jessica A'Hearn, Michael F. Altobelli, Nicolas Angrilli, Francesco Barucci, M. Antonietta Bertaux, Jean-Loup BERTINI, IVANO Bodewits, Dennis Bussoletti, Ezio COLANGELI, Luigi Cosi, Massimo CREMONESE, Gabriele Crifo, Jean-Francois Da Deppo, Vania Davidsson, Björn Debei, Stefano De Cecco, Mariolino ESPOSITO, Francesca FERRARI, MARCO FORNASIER, SONIA Giovane, Frank Gustafson, Bo Green, Simon F. Groussin, Olivier Grün, Eberhard Güttler, Carsten Herranz, Miguel L. Hviid, Stubbe F. Ip, Wing IVANOVSKI, STAVRO LAMBROV Jerónimo, José M. Jorda, Laurent Knollenberg, Joerg Kramm, Rainer Kührt, Ekkehard Küppers, Michael Lazzarin, Monica Leese, Mark R. López-Jiménez, Antonio C. Lucarelli, Francesca Lowry, Stephen C. MARZARI, FRANCESCO Epifani, Elena Mazzotta McDonnell, J. Anthony M. MENNELLA, Vito Michalik, Harald Molina, Antonio Morales, Rafael Moreno, Fernando Mottola, Stefano Naletto, Giampiero Oklay, Nilda Ortiz, José L. PALOMBA, Ernesto PALUMBO, PASQUALE Perrin, Jean-Marie Rodríguez, Julio Sabau, Lola Snodgrass, Colin SORDINI, Roberto Thomas, Nicolas TUBIANA, Cecilia Vincent, Jean-Baptiste Weissman, Paul Wenzel, Klaus-Peter ZAKHAROV, VLADIMIR Zarnecki, John C. |
Issue Date: | 2015 |
Journal: | SCIENCE |
Number: | 347 |
Issue: | 6220 |
First Page: | aaa3905 |
Abstract: | Critical measurements for understanding accretion and the dust/gas ratio in the solar nebula, where planets were forming 4.5 billion years ago, are being obtained by the GIADA (Grain Impact Analyser and Dust Accumulator) experiment on the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Between 3.6 and 3.4 astronomical units inbound, GIADA and OSIRIS (Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System) detected 35 outflowing grains of mass 10<SUP>-10</SUP> to 10<SUP>-7</SUP> kilograms, and 48 grains of mass 10<SUP>-5</SUP> to 10<SUP>-2</SUP> kilograms, respectively. Combined with gas data from the MIRO (Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter) and ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) instruments, we find a dust/gas mass ratio of 4 ± 2 averaged over the sunlit nucleus surface. A cloud of larger grains also encircles the nucleus in bound orbits from the previous perihelion. The largest orbiting clumps are meter-sized, confirming the dust/gas ratio of 3 inferred at perihelion from models of dust comae and trails. <P /> |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12386/23141 |
URL: | https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6220/aaa3905.abstract |
ISSN: | 0036-8075 |
DOI: | 10.1126/science.aaa3905 |
Bibcode ADS: | 2015Sci...347a3905R |
Fulltext: | reserved |
Appears in Collections: | 1.01 Articoli in rivista
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