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1. The organic-rich surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by VIRTIS/Rosetta

Author

F. Capaccioni, A. Coradini, G. Filacchione, S. Erard, G. Arnold, P. Drossart, M. C. De Sanctis, D. Bockelee-Morvan, M. T. Capria, F. Tosi, C. Leyrat, B. Schmitt, E. Quirico, P. Cerroni, V. Mennella, A. Raponi, M. Ciarniello, T. McCord, L. Moroz, E. Palomba, E. Ammannito, M. A. Barucci, G. Bellucci, J. Benkhoff, J. P. Bibring, A. Blanco, M. Blecka, R. Carlson, U. Carsenty, L. Colangeli, M. Combes, M. Combi, J. Crovisier, T. Encrenaz, C. Federico, U. Fink, S. Fonti, W. H. Ip, P. Irwin, R. Jaumann, E. Kuehrt, Y. Langevin, G. Magni, S. Mottola, V. Orofino, P. Palumbo, G. Piccioni, U. Schade, F. Taylor, D. Tiphene, G. P. Tozzi, P. Beck, N. Biver, L. Bonal, J.-Ph. Combe, D. Despan, E. Flamini, S. Fornasier, A. Frigeri, D. Grassi, M. Gudipati, A. Longobardo, K. Markus, F. Merlin, R. Orosei, G. Rinaldi, K. Stephan, M. Cartacci, A. Cicchetti, S. Giuppi, Y. Hello, F. Henry, S. Jacquinod, R. Noschese, G. Peter, R. Politi, J. M. Reess, and A. Semery

Published
2015
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2. The changing temperature of the nucleus of comet 67P induced by morphological and seasonal effects

Author

Ernesto Palomba, T. B. McCord, Batiste Rousseau, F. Mancarella, Sergio Fonti, Bernard Schmitt, Dominique Bockelée-Morvan, David Kappel, Mark Hofstadter, A. Zinzi, Gabriele Arnold, Mauro Ciarniello, J. Ph. Combe, Fabrizio Capaccioni, Giuseppe Piccioni, Alessandra Migliorini, Federico Tosi, J.-B. Vincent, Stéphane Erard, Giancarlo Bellucci, Priscilla Cerroni, Andrea Raponi, Johannes Benkhoff, D. Despan, Stefano Mottola, M. T. Capria, M. A. Barucci, Vincenzo Orofino, Gianrico Filacchione, Michelangelo Formisano, C. Leyrat, Andrea Longobardo, Ekkehard Kührt, M. C. De Sanctis, Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali - INAF (IAPS), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma (IASF-Roma), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Lecce, DLR Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt [Berlin] (DLR), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung (MPS), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), European Space Agency (ESA), Department of Physics [Lecce], Università del Salento [Lecce], Department of Earth and Space Sciences [Seattle], University of Washington [Seattle], Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Institut de recherches sur la catalyse (IRC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Observatoire de Paris - Site de Meudon (OBSPM), Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR6112 (LPG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université d'Angers (UA), ITA, USA, FRA, DEU, Tosi, F., Capaccioni, F., Capria, M. T., Mottola, S., Zinzi, A., Ciarniello, M., Filacchione, G., Hofstadter, M., Fonti, S., Formisano, M., Kappel, D., Kührt, E., Leyrat, C., Vincent, J. -B., Arnold, G., De Sanctis, M. C., Longobardo, A., Palomba, E., Raponi, A., Rousseau, B., Schmitt, B., Barucci, M. A., Bellucci, G., Benkhoff, J., Bockelée-Morvan, D., Cerroni, P., Combe, J. -Ph., Despan, D., Erard, S., Mancarella, F., Mccord, T. B., Migliorini, A., Orofino, V., and Piccioni, G.

Subjects
Daytime, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Infrared, Comet, Imaging spectrometer, [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP], Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, law.invention, Orbiter, law, Phase (matter), 0103 physical sciences, medicine, Comets, Rosetta mission, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Physics, Diurnal temperature variation, Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko thermal modeling temperature, Institut für Physik und Astronomie, Astronomy and Astrophysics, medicine.anatomical_structure, 13. Climate action, ddc:520, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Nucleus
Abstract

International audience; K nowledge of the surface temperature distribution of a comet's nucleus proves to be of fundamental importance for a number of reasons: the evaluation of the thermophysical properties (thermal inertia and roughness, at several spatial scales), the characterization of the thermal behaviour of peculiar surface units (for example, local ice exposures, or inherently cold material units not to be confused with shaded areas), and for the understanding of the physical processes affecting the surface and the shallow subsur-face layers (for example, sublimation of volatile compounds). The distribution of surface temperatures of a cometary nucleus, closely measured by a spacecraft, can be compared with theoretical models meant to predict the thermophysical properties of the nucleus at various depths and with previous thermal observations carried out by both Earth-based and space-based telescopes, with the goal of validating and/or improving those models 1. Furthermore, the temporal evolution of the surface temperatures, primarily driven by insolation, is critical in triggering the activity of a comet, allowing the migration of volatile compounds from the interior of the nucleus and the production of gas and dust observable with different techniques 2. In the past, thermal surveys of minor bodies were carried out using ground-based and space-based facilities. However, due to the limited spatial resolution of those observations, in most cases the derived thermal properties were only global averages, and the determined temperatures were highly model dependent. Before Rosetta, direct measurements of cometary nuclei surface temperatures were obtained during short periods for a handful of comets, namely 1P/ Halley 3 , 19P/Borrelly 4 , 9P/Tempel 1 1 and 103P/Hartley 2 5 , with a maximum spatial resolution of approximately 30 m per pixel. Here we study the surface temperature distribution of the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as derived by the Visible InfraRed and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer, Mapping channel (VIRTIS-M, hereafter VIRTIS) 6 in Rosetta's early global mapping phase after comet encounter. These data cover the pre-perihelion period from 1 August to 23 September 2014, when the heliocentric distance decreased from 3.62 to 3.31 au and the spacecraft was in the altitude range 61-13 km above the surface, resulting in a spatial resolution from approximately 15 to 3 m per pixel (most data showing a resolution of 13 to 15 m per pixel). In this period, the solar phase angle ranged from 17° to 93°, which Knowledge of the surface temperature distribution on a comet's nucleus and its temporal evolution at different timescales is key to constraining its thermophysical properties and understanding the physical processes that take place at and below the surface. Here we report on time-resolved maps of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko retrieved on the basis of infra-red data acquired by the Visible InfraRed and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) onboard the Rosetta orbiter in 2014, over a roughly two-month period in the pre-perihelion phase at heliocentric distances between 3.62 and 3.31 au from the Sun. We find that at a spatial resolution ≤15 m per pixel, the measured temperatures point out the major effect that self-heating, due to the complex shape of the nucleus, has on the diurnal temperature variation. The bilobate nucleus of comet 67P also induces daytime shadowing effects, which result in large thermal gradients. Over longer periods, VIRTIS-derived temperature values reveal seasonal changes driven by decreasing heliocentric distance combined with an increasing abundance of ice within the uppermost centimetre-thick layer, which implies the possibility of having a largely pristine nucleus interior already in the shallow subsurface.

Published
2019
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3. Seasonal exposure of carbon dioxide ice on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Author

Luigi Colangeli, Vito Mennella, Federico Tosi, M. Combes, D. Despan, Patrick G. J. Irwin, Andrea Cicchetti, Lydie Bonal, Bernard Schmitt, Nicolas Biver, M. Cartacci, Florence Henry, Th. Encrenaz, Romolo Politi, Michelangelo Formisano, M. A. Barucci, David Kappel, Eric Quirico, Mauro Ciarniello, Roberto Orosei, Ralf Jaumann, Andrea Longobardo, Katrin Stephan, E. Kuehrt, Fabrizio Capaccioni, Yves Langevin, Wing-Huen Ip, Gianrico Filacchione, Michael R. Combi, Gabriele Arnold, Ernesto Palomba, Giovanna Rinaldi, D. Tiphene, Y. Hello, Robert W. Carlson, Ulrich Schade, Gianfranco Magni, Alessandra Migliorini, G. P. Tozzi, Sonia Fornasier, J. Crovisier, Andrea Raponi, Pierre Beck, U. Fink, Pierre Drossart, Stefano Mottola, Enrico Flamini, M. C. De Sanctis, D. Bockelee-Morvan, Marcello Fulchignoni, Kathrin Markus, Giancarlo Bellucci, M. T. Capria, G. Peter, Davide Grassi, F. Merlin, Sergio Fonti, Costanzo Federico, Eleonora Ammannito, M. I. Blecka, Armando Blanco, Raffaella Noschese, Jean-Michel Reess, T. B. McCord, Alessandro Frigeri, C. Leyrat, Giuseppe Piccioni, Priscilla Cerroni, U. Carsenty, F. Mancarella, L. Moroz, Fredric W. Taylor, Jean-Pierre Bibring, Stéphane Erard, Johannes Benkhoff, S. Jacquinod, J. Ph. Combe, M. S. Gudipati, Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali - INAF (IAPS), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma (IASF-Roma), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI), National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency (ESA), Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), German Aerospace Center (DLR), INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte (OAC), Department of Physics [Imperial College London], Imperial College London, Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEAV), Institut, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson] (LPL), University of Arizona, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Lecce, Institute of Space Science [Taiwan], National Central University [Taiwan] (NCU), Department of Physics [Oxford], University of Oxford, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung = Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Department of Earth and Space Sciences [Seattle], University of Washington [Seattle], INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri (OAA), Laboratoire de Sciences de la Terre, Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Alenia Aerospazio, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), DLR Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt [Berlin] (DLR), Department of Physics [Lecce], Università del Salento [Lecce], JDS Uniphase/Cronos, USA, JDS Uniphase/Cronos, IASI (IASI), Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), European Space Agency (ESA), University of Oxford [Oxford], Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung (MPS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ITA, USA, GBR, FRA, DEU, TWN, and NLD

Subjects
[PHYS]Physics [physics], Multidisciplinary, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Infrared, Atmospheric sciences, 01 natural sciences, Astrobiology, chemistry.chemical_compound, medicine.anatomical_structure, chemistry, 13. Climate action, Comet nucleus, Rosetta, 0103 physical sciences, Carbon dioxide, medicine, Environmental science, Surface layer, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, Nucleus, Volatility (chemistry), ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Abstract

Rosetta observes sublimating surface icesComets are “dirty snowballs” made of ice and dust, but they are dark because the ice sublimates away, leaving some of the dust behind on the surface. The Rosetta spacecraft has provided a close-up view of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as it passes through its closest point to the Sun (see the Perspective by Dello Russo). Filacchioneet al.detected the spectral signature of solid CO2(dry ice) in small patches on the surface of the nucleus as they emerged from local winter. By modeling how the CO2sublimates, they constrain the composition of comets and how ices generate the gaseous coma and tail. Fornasieret al.studied images of the comet and discovered bright patches on the surface where ice was exposed, which disappeared as the ice sublimated. They also saw frost emerging from receding shadows. The surface of the comet was noticeably less red just after local dawn, indicating that icy material is removed by sunlight during the local day.Science, this issue p.1563, p.1566; see also p.1536

Published
2016
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4. Exposed water ice on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Author

Giancarlo Bellucci, Katrin Stephan, Yves Langevin, Sergio Fonti, G. Peter, Gianrico Filacchione, Ulrich Schade, G. P. Tozzi, Jacques Crovisier, Costanzo Federico, Eleonora Ammannito, M. I. Blecka, S. Jacquinod, Jean-Michel Reess, M. Cartacci, Michael R. Combi, Vito Mennella, Federico Tosi, Marcello Fulchignoni, Armando Blanco, Giuseppe Piccioni, Roberto Orosei, Bernard Schmitt, Andrea Longobardo, Giovanna Rinaldi, Ralf Jaumann, Vincenzo Orofino, Alessandra Migliorini, Andrea Raponi, Pierre Drossart, M. Combes, David Kappel, Mauro Ciarniello, D. Despan, Murthy S. Gudipati, C. Leyrat, T. Encrenaz, Ernesto Palomba, Andrea Cicchetti, Fabrizio Capaccioni, Michelangelo Formisano, Maria Teresa Capria, Romolo Politi, Dominique Bockelée-Morvan, Stefano Mottola, Enrico Flamini, Pierre Beck, L. Moroz, Gianfranco Magni, U. Fink, Eric Quirico, Fredric W. Taylor, Sonia Fornasier, J-Ph. Combe, F. Merlin, Jean-Pierre Bibring, N. Biver, M. C. De Sanctis, Florence Henry, Uri Carsenty, M. A. Barucci, Gabriele Arnold, Y. Hello, Patrick G. J. Irwin, R. W. Carlson, Wing-Huen Ip, E. Kuehrt, Kathrin Markus, Davide Grassi, S. Giuppi, Raffaella Noschese, Alessandro Frigeri, F. Mancarella, Stéphane Erard, Luigi Colangeli, Lydie Bonal, T. B. McCord, J. Benkhoff, D. Tiphene, Priscilla Cerroni, G., Filacchione, M. C., De Sancti, F., Capaccioni, A., Raponi, F., Tosi, M., Ciarniello, P., Cerroni, G., Piccioni, M. T., Capria, E., Palomba, G., Bellucci, S., Erard, D., Bockelee Morvan, C., Leyrat, G., Arnold, M. A., Barucci, M., Fulchignoni, B., Schmitt, E., Quirico, R., Jaumann, K., Stephan, A., Longobardo, V., Mennella, A., Migliorini, E., Ammannito, J., Benkhoff, J. P., Bibring, Blanco, Armando, M. I., Blecka, R., Carlson, U., Carsenty, L., Colangeli, M., Combe, M., Combi, J., Crovisier, P., Drossart, T., Encrenaz, C., Federico, U., Fink, Fonti, Sergio, W. H., Ip, P., Irwin, E., Kuehrt, Y., Langevin, G., Magni, T., Mccord, L., Moroz, S., Mottola, Orofino, Vincenzo, U., Schade, F., Taylor, D., Tiphene, G. P., Tozzi, P., Beck, N., Biver, L., Bonal, Combe, J. P. h., D., Despan, E., Flamini, M., Formisano, S., Fornasier, A., Frigeri, D., Grassi, M. S., Gudipati, D., Kappel, Mancarella, Francesca, K., Marku, F., Merlin, R., Orosei, G., Rinaldi, M., Cartacci, A., Cicchetti, S., Giuppi, Y., Hello, F., Henry, S., Jacquinod, J. M., Ree, R., Noschese, R., Politi, G., Peter, Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali - INAF (IAPS), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik (MPIK), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma (IASF-Roma), Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI), National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique Textiles (LPMT), Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Matériaux et Nanosciences Grand-Est (MNGE), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency (ESA), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte (OAC), Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences [Ann Arbor] (AOSS), University of Michigan [Ann Arbor], University of Michigan System-University of Michigan System, Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEAV), Institut, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson] (LPL), University of Arizona, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Lecce, Institute of Space Science [Taiwan], National Central University [Taiwan] (NCU), Department of Physics [Oxford], University of Oxford, Department of Earth and Space Sciences [Seattle], University of Washington [Seattle], DLR Institute of Planetary Research, Department of Physics [Lecce], Università del Salento [Lecce], INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri (OAA), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Alenia Aerospazio, DLR Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt [Berlin] (DLR), JDS Uniphase/Cronos, USA, JDS Uniphase/Cronos, CNR-IASF, Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (OCA), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d’Océanologie et de Géosciences (LOG) - UMR 8187 (LOG), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale (ULCO)-Université de Lille-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Nord]), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-ENSITM-Matériaux et nanosciences d'Alsace, Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), European Space Agency (ESA), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Polska Akademia Nauk (PAN), University of Oxford [Oxford], Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR6112 (LPG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université d'Angers (UA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Lille-Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ENSITM-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Matériaux et nanosciences d'Alsace (FMNGE), Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA) Mulhouse - Colmar (Université de Haute-Alsace (UHA))-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale (ULCO)-Université de Lille-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Subjects
Materials science, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Extraterrestrial Environment, Comet, Mineralogy, comet 67P, 01 natural sciences, water ice, Astrobiology, Diffusion, 0103 physical sciences, Rosetta, medicine, Diffusion (business), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, [PHYS]Physics [physics], Multidisciplinary, Meteoroid, Spectrum Analysis, Ice, food and beverages, Meteoroids, VIRTIS, Debris, Asteroids, Grain growth, medicine.anatomical_structure, 13. Climate action, comets and Kuiper belt Early solar system, Gases, Layering, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Nucleus, Water vapor
Abstract

Although water vapour is the main species observed in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko1, 2 and water is the major constituent of cometary nuclei3, 4, limited evidence for exposed water-ice regions on the surface of the nucleus has been found so far5, 6. The absence of large regions of exposed water ice seems a common finding on the surfaces of many of the comets observed so far7, 8, 9. The nucleus of 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko appears to be fairly uniformly coated with dark, dehydrated, refractory and organic-rich material10. Here we report the identification at infrared wavelengths of water ice on two debris falls in the Imhotep region of the nucleus. The ice has been exposed on the walls of elevated structures and at the base of the walls. A quantitative derivation of the abundance of ice in these regions indicates the presence of millimetre-sized pure water-ice grains, considerably larger than in all previous observations6, 7, 8, 9. Although micrometre-sized water-ice grains are the usual result of vapour recondensation in ice-free layers6, the occurrence of millimetre-sized grains of pure ice as observed in the Imhotep debris falls is best explained by grain growth by vapour diffusion in ice-rich layers, or by sintering. As a consequence of these processes, the nucleus can develop an extended and complex coating in which the outer dehydrated crust10 is superimposed on layers enriched in water ice. The stratigraphy observed on 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko11, 12 is therefore the result of evolutionary processes affecting the uppermost metres of the nucleus and does not necessarily require a global layering to have occurred at the time of the comet’s formation.

Published
2016
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5. The organic-rich surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by VIRTIS/Rosetta

Author

Gabriele Arnold, Maria Teresa Capria, Y. Hello, Kathrin Markus, Vincenzo Orofino, A. Semery, Romolo Politi, Stéphane Erard, Roberto Orosei, Robert W. Carlson, Davide Grassi, M. Combes, J. Crovisier, Gianfranco Magni, Andrea Raponi, Michael R. Combi, Priscilla Cerroni, Yves Langevin, L. Moroz, Pierre Drossart, Ulrich Schade, G. P. Tozzi, Wing-Huen Ip, Luigi Colangeli, Fredric W. Taylor, Angioletta Coradini, J. Ph. Combe, Raffaella Noschese, Enrico Flamini, Giancarlo Bellucci, Ernesto Palomba, Sonia Fornasier, F. Merlin, Lydie Bonal, Andrea Longobardo, G. Peter, M. Cartacci, Alessandro Frigeri, Giuseppe Piccioni, Bernard Schmitt, Uwe Fink, Ralf Jaumann, Mauro Ciarniello, D. Despan, M. A. Barucci, Giovanna Rinaldi, Pierre Beck, M. C. De Sanctis, S. Giuppi, S. Jacquinod, Uri Carsenty, D. Bockelee-Morvan, Eric Quirico, Stefano Mottola, F. Henry, N. Biver, Jean-Pierre Bibring, Patrick G. J. Irwin, T. Encrenaz, Katrin Stephan, Andrea Cicchetti, Johannes Benkhoff, C. Leyrat, Gianrico Filacchione, D. Tiphene, J. M. Reess, T. B. McCord, Sergio Fonti, Costanzo Federico, Eleonora Ammannito, M. I. Blecka, Pasquale Palumbo, Armando Blanco, M. Gudipati, Fabrizio Capaccioni, Vito Mennella, Federico Tosi, E. Kuehrt, F., Capaccioni, A., Coradini, G., Filacchione, S., Erard, G., Arnold, P., Drossart, M. C., De Sancti, D., Bockelee Morvan, M. T., Capria, F., Tosi, C., Leyrat, B., Schmitt, E., Quirico, P., Cerroni, V., Mennella, A., Raponi, M., Ciarniello, T., Mccord, L., Moroz, E., Palomba, E., Ammannito, M. A., Barucci, G., Bellucci, J., Benkhoff, J. P., Bibring, Blanco, Armando, M., Blecka, R., Carlson, U., Carsenty, L., Colangeli, M., Combe, M., Combi, J., Crovisier, T., Encrenaz, C., Federico, U., Fink, Fonti, Sergio, W. H., Ip, P., Irwin, R., Jaumann, E., Kuehrt, Y., Langevin, G., Magni, S., Mottola, Orofino, Vincenzo, P., Palumbo, G., Piccioni, U., Schade, F., Taylor, D., Tiphene, G. P., Tozzi, P., Beck, N., Biver, L., Bonal, Combe, J. P. h., D., Despan, E., Flamini, S., Fornasier, A., Frigeri, D., Grassi, M., Gudipati, A., Longobardo, K., Marku, F., Merlin, R., Orosei, G., Rinaldi, K., Stephan, M., Cartacci, A., Cicchetti, S., Giuppi, Y., Hello, F., Henry, S., Jacquinod, R., Noschese, G., Peter, R., Politi, J. M., Ree, A., Semery, Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma (IASF-Roma), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali - INAF (IAPS), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), DLR Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt [Berlin] (DLR), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Earth and Space Sciences [Seattle], University of Washington [Seattle], Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), European Space Agency (ESA), Institut d'astrophysique spatiale (IAS), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Polska Akademia Nauk (PAN), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Department of Physics [Imperial College London], Imperial College London, Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEAV), Institut, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory [Tucson] (LPL), University of Arizona, Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Lecce, Institute of Space Science [Taiwan], National Central University [Taiwan] (NCU), Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics [Oxford] (AOPP), University of Oxford [Oxford], DLR Institute of Planetary Research, Department of Physics [Lecce], Università del Salento [Lecce], INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri (OAA), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR6112 (LPG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université d'Angers (UA), Alenia Aerospazio, JDS Uniphase/Cronos, USA, JDS Uniphase/Cronos, CNR-IASF, IASI (IASI), Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG ), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency (ESA), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), University of Oxford, Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ITA, USA, GBR, FRA, DEU, TWN, NLD, and POL

Subjects
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Opacity, Rosetta mission, VIRTIS, comets, Infrared, Comet, Imaging spectrometer, Astrophysics, 01 natural sciences, Astrobiology, comet, 0103 physical sciences, Spectral slope, Thermal, Rosetta, Rosetta mission, comets, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, [PHYS]Physics [physics], Multidisciplinary, Chemistry, Albedo, VIRTIS, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], organic-rich
Abstract

The VIRTIS (Visible, Infrared and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer) instrument on board the Rosetta spacecraft has provided evidence of carbon-bearing compounds on the nucleus of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The very low reflectance of the nucleus (normal albedo of 0.060 ± 0.003 at 0.55 micrometers), the spectral slopes in visible and infrared ranges (5 to 25 and 1.5 to 5% kÅ −1 ), and the broad absorption feature in the 2.9-to-3.6–micrometer range present across the entire illuminated surface are compatible with opaque minerals associated with nonvolatile organic macromolecular materials: a complex mixture of various types of carbon-hydrogen and/or oxygen-hydrogen chemical groups, with little contribution of nitrogen-hydrogen groups. In active areas, the changes in spectral slope and absorption feature width may suggest small amounts of water-ice. However, no ice-rich patches are observed, indicating a generally dehydrated nature for the surface currently illuminated by the Sun.

Published
2015
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6. The global surface composition of 67P/CG nucleus by Rosetta/VIRTIS. (I) Prelanding mission phase

Author

M. Faure, David Kappel, Priscilla Cerroni, Antonella Barucci, Alessandra Migliorini, Fabrizio Capaccioni, Batiste Rousseau, Dominique Morvan, Sonia Fornasier, C. Leyrat, Eric Quirico, D. Despan, Federico Tosi, Gabriele Arnold, Andrea Longobardo, Stéphane Erard, Andrea Raponi, Ralf Jaumann, Sergio Fonti, L. V. Moroz, Ernesto Palomba, F. Mancarella, Maria Teresa Capria, Maria Cristina De Sanctis, Robert W. Carlson, Bernard Schmitt, Mauro Ciarniello, Katrin Stephan, Gianrico Filacchione, Giuseppe Piccioni, Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali - INAF (IAPS), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt [Berlin] (DLR), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica 'Ennio de Georgi', Università del Salento [Lecce], ITA, USA, FRA, DEU, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), and California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA

Subjects
Asteroiden und Kometen, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Institut für Planetenforschung, Comet, FOS: Physical sciences, Spatial distribution, 01 natural sciences, Nucleus, Flattening, Spectral line, law.invention, Orbiter, law, Rosetta, 0103 physical sciences, Spectroscopy, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP), Physics, [PHYS]Physics [physics], Single-scattering albedo, Hyperspectral imaging, Astronomy, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Planetengeologie, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Composition, Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract

From August to November 2014 the Rosetta orbiter has performed an extensive observation campaign aimed at the characterization of 67P/CG nucleus properties and to the selection of the Philae landing site. The campaign led to the production of a global map of the illuminated portion of 67P/CG nucleus. During this prelanding phase the comet's heliocentric distance decreased from 3.62 to 2.93 AU while Rosetta was orbiting around the nucleus at distances between 100 to 10 km. VIRTIS-M, the Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer - Mapping channel (Coradini et al. 2007) onboard the orbiter, has acquired 0.25-5.1 micron hyperspectral data of the entire illuminated surface, e.g. the north hemisphere and the equatorial regions, with spatial resolution between 2.5 and 25 m/pixel. I/F spectra have been corrected for thermal emission removal in the 3.5-5.1 micron range and for surface's photometric response. The resulting reflectance spectra have been used to compute several Cometary Spectral Indicators (CSI): single scattering albedo at 0.55 micron, 0.5-0.8 micron and 1.0-2.5 micron spectral slopes, 3.2 micron organic material and 2.0 micron water ice band parameters (center, depth) with the aim to map their spatial distribution on the surface and to study their temporal variability as the nucleus moved towards the Sun. Indeed, throughout the investigated period, the nucleus surface shows a significant increase of the single scattering albedo along with a decrease of the 0.5-0.8 and 1.0-2.5 micron spectral slopes, indicating a flattening of the reflectance. We attribute the origin of this effect to the partial removal of the dust layer caused by the increased contribution of water sublimation to the gaseous activity as comet crossed the frost-line., 19 Figures, 5 Tables. Accepted for publication in Icarus journal on 29 February 2016

Published
2016
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7. Mercury resolved spectroscopy from NTT

Author

Stéphane Erard, Bruno Bézard, Alain Doressoundiram, D. Despan, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Pôle Planétologie du LESIA, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique = Laboratory of Space Studies and Instrumentation in Astrophysics (LESIA), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)

Subjects
Physics, medicine.diagnostic_test, business.industry, Analytical chemistry, chemistry.chemical_element, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pyroxene, engineering.material, Mercury (element), Optics, chemistry, Space and Planetary Science, Spectrophotometry, medicine, Enstatite, engineering, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], business, Longitude, Spectroscopy, Order of magnitude, Hedenbergite
Abstract

Mercury has been observed in June 2006 with the SofI instrument at NTT. Resolved spectroscopy was performed in the 0.94 – 2.5 μ m range. The observations were acquired close to a favorable quadrature with maximum elongation, and span mostly the southern hemisphere in the 235–315°E longitude area. In contrast to recent observations from IRTF, the present study does not indicate any pyroxene absorption in the near-infrared range, neither in the 2 μ m region nor at 1 μ m . Detailed spectral analysis allows to derive an upper limit of 1.5% type-A pyroxene (hedenbergite) or 1.1% enstatite (assuming minimum lunar iron content) in the regions observed, at the 700 km scale. Assuming lunar-like maturity effects on band depth, this corresponds to an upper limit of 0.15 and 0.6 wt.% FeO content in silicates, an order of magnitude less than previous estimates.

Published
2011
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8. Cometary science. The organic-rich surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by VIRTIS/Rosetta

Author

F, Capaccioni, A, Coradini, G, Filacchione, S, Erard, G, Arnold, P, Drossart, M C, De Sanctis, D, Bockelee-Morvan, M T, Capria, F, Tosi, C, Leyrat, B, Schmitt, E, Quirico, P, Cerroni, V, Mennella, A, Raponi, M, Ciarniello, T, McCord, L, Moroz, E, Palomba, E, Ammannito, M A, Barucci, G, Bellucci, J, Benkhoff, J P, Bibring, A, Blanco, M, Blecka, R, Carlson, U, Carsenty, L, Colangeli, M, Combes, M, Combi, J, Crovisier, T, Encrenaz, C, Federico, U, Fink, S, Fonti, W H, Ip, P, Irwin, R, Jaumann, E, Kuehrt, Y, Langevin, G, Magni, S, Mottola, V, Orofino, P, Palumbo, G, Piccioni, U, Schade, F, Taylor, D, Tiphene, G P, Tozzi, P, Beck, N, Biver, L, Bonal, J-Ph, Combe, D, Despan, E, Flamini, S, Fornasier, A, Frigeri, D, Grassi, M, Gudipati, A, Longobardo, K, Markus, F, Merlin, R, Orosei, G, Rinaldi, K, Stephan, M, Cartacci, A, Cicchetti, S, Giuppi, Y, Hello, F, Henry, S, Jacquinod, R, Noschese, G, Peter, R, Politi, J M, Reess, and A, Semery

Abstract

The VIRTIS (Visible, Infrared and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer) instrument on board the Rosetta spacecraft has provided evidence of carbon-bearing compounds on the nucleus of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The very low reflectance of the nucleus (normal albedo of 0.060 ± 0.003 at 0.55 micrometers), the spectral slopes in visible and infrared ranges (5 to 25 and 1.5 to 5% kÅ(-1)), and the broad absorption feature in the 2.9-to-3.6-micrometer range present across the entire illuminated surface are compatible with opaque minerals associated with nonvolatile organic macromolecular materials: a complex mixture of various types of carbon-hydrogen and/or oxygen-hydrogen chemical groups, with little contribution of nitrogen-hydrogen groups. In active areas, the changes in spectral slope and absorption feature width may suggest small amounts of water-ice. However, no ice-rich patches are observed, indicating a generally dehydrated nature for the surface currently illuminated by the Sun.

Published
2015

9. Bidirectional reflectance of rough bare soil surfaces

Author

Bernard Cervelle, Ali Bedidi, D. Despan, Laboratoire Géomatériaux et Environnement (LGE), and Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEM)

Subjects
Geophysics, Remote sensing (archaeology), Goniometer, Rough surface, Probabilistic logic, General Earth and Planetary Sciences, Bidirectional reflectance distribution function, Conditional expectation, Reflectivity, [SDU.STU.AG]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Applied geology, Geology, Remote sensing
Abstract

International audience; A BRDF model for rough surfaces using probabilistic expressions for the shadowing factor and the conditional mean slope was previously proposed. We present here its validation by laboratory measurements on bare soil surfaces, using the European Goniometric Facility (EGO). The model could be used to retrieve the statistical characteristics of land profiles in astronomy and terrestial remote sensing.

Published
1999
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10. Refractory and semi-volatile organics at the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: Insights from the VIRTIS/Rosetta imaging spectrometer

Author

Quirico, E, Moroz, LV, Schmitt, B, Arnold, G, Faure, M, Beck, P, Bonal, L, Ciarniello, M, Capaccioni, F, Filacchione, G, Erard, S, Leyrat, C, Bockelee-Morvan, D, Zinzi, A, Palomba, E, Drossart, P, Tosi, F, Capria, MT, De Sanctis, MC, Raponi, A, Fonti, S, Mancarella, F, Orofino, V, Barucci, A, Blecka, MI, Carlson, R, Despan, D, Faure, A, Fornasier, S, Gudipati, MS, Longobardo, A, Markus, K, Mennella, V, Merlin, F, Piccioni, G, Rousseau, B, Taylor, F, Team, Rosetta VIRTIS, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG), Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), DLR Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt [Berlin] (DLR), Centre de physique moléculaire optique et hertzienne (CPMOH), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1, Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali - INAF (IAPS), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma (IASF-Roma), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Lecce, Department of Physics [Lecce], Università del Salento [Lecce], Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR6112 (LPG), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Nantes - Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques, Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Université d'Angers (UA), JDS Uniphase/Cronos, USA, JDS Uniphase/Cronos, Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), E., Quirico, L. V., Moroz, B., Schmitt, G., Arnold, M., Faure, P., Beck, L., Bonal, M., Ciarniello, F., Capaccioni, G., Filacchione, S., Erard, C., Leyrat, D., Bockelée Morvan, A., Zinzi, E., Palomba, P., Drossart, F., Tosi, M. T., Capria, M. C., De Sancti, A., Raponi, Fonti, Sergio, Mancarella, Francesca, Orofino, Vincenzo, A., Barucci, M. I., Blecka, R., Carlson, D., Despan, A., Faure, S., Fornasier, M. S., Gudipati, A., Longobardo, K., Marku, V., Mennella, F., Merlin, G., Piccioni, B., Rousseau, F., Taylor, ITA, USA, GBR, FRA, DEU, and POL

Subjects
Solar System, Institut für Erd- und Umweltwissenschaften, Materials science, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Infrared, Comet, Imaging spectrometer, Organic chemistry, 01 natural sciences, Spectral line, Astrobiology, Chondrite, 0103 physical sciences, Comets, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, [PHYS]Physics [physics], Infrared observations, Interstellar ice, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Spectrophotometry, 13. Climate action, Space and Planetary Science, Absorption band, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Meteorites
Abstract

The VIRTIS (Visible, Infrared and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer) instrument aboard the Rosetta spacecraft has performed extensive spectral mapping of the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the range 0.3-5 mu m. The reflectance spectra collected across the surface display a low reflectance factor over the whole spectral range, two spectral slopes in the visible and near-infrared ranges and a broad absorption band centered at 3.2 mu m. The first two of these characteristics are typical of dark small bodies of the Solar System and are difficult to interpret in terms of composition. Moreover, solar wind irradiation may modify the structure and composition of surface materials and there is no unequivocal interpretation of these spectra devoid of vibrational bands. To circumvent these problems, we consider the composition of cometary grains analyzed in the laboratory to constrain the nature of the cometary materials and consider results on surface rejuvenation and solar wind processing provided by the OSIRIS and ROSINA instruments, respectively. Our results lead to five main conclusions: (i) The low albedo of comet 67P/CG is accounted for by a dark refractory polyaromatic carbonaceous component mixed with opaque minerals. VIRTIS data do not provide direct insights into the nature of these opaque minerals. However, according to the composition of cometary grains analyzed in the laboratory, we infer that they consist of Fe-Ni alloys and FeS sulfides. (ii) A semi-volatile component, consisting of a complex mix of low weight molecular species not volatilized at T similar to 220 K, is likely a major carrier of the 3.2 p.m band. Water ice contributes significantly to this feature in the neck region but not in other regions of the comet. COOH in carboxylic acids is the only chemical group that encompasses the broad width of this feature. It appears as a highly plausible candidate along with the NH4+ ion. (iii) Photolytic/thermal residues, produced in the laboratory from interstellar ice analogs, are potentially good spectral analogs. (iv) No hydrated minerals were identified and our data support the lack of genetic links with the CI, CR and CM primitive chondrites. This concerns in particular the Orgueil chondrite, previously suspected to have been of cometary origin. (v) The comparison between fresh and aged terrains revealed no effect of solar wind irradiation on the 3.2 mu m band. This is consistent with the presence of efficient resurfacing processes such as dust transport from the interior to the surface, as revealed by the OSIRIS camera. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Published
2016
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11. The diurnal cycle of water ice on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Author

DE SANCTIS, MARIA CRISTINA, CAPACCIONI, FABRIZIO, CIARNIELLO, Mauro, FILACCHIONE, GIANRICO, FORMISANO, Michelangelo, Mottola, S., RAPONI, Andrea, TOSI, Federico, Bockelée-Morvan, D., Erard, S., Leyrat, C., Schmitt, B., Ammannito, E., Arnold, G., Barucci, M. A., Combi, M., Capria, M. T., Cerroni, P., Ip, W. -H., Kuehrt, E., McCord, T. B., PALOMBA, Ernesto, Beck, P., Quirico, E., VIRTIS Team, PICCIONI, GIUSEPPE, BELLUCCI, Giancarlo, Fulchignoni, M., Jaumann, R., Stephan, K., Longobardo, A., MENNELLA, Vito, MIGLIORINI, Alessandra, Benkhoff, J., Bibring, J. P., Blanco, A., Blecka, M., Carlson, R., Carsenty, U., Colangeli, L., Combes, M., Crovisier, J., Drossart, P., Encrenaz, T., Federico, C., Fink, U., Fonti, S., Irwin, P., Langevin, Y., Magni, G., Moroz, L., Orofino, V., Schade, U., Taylor, F., Tiphene, D., Tozzi, G. P., Biver, N., Bonal, L., Combe, J. -Ph., Despan, D., Flamini, E., Fornasier, S., FRIGERI, ALESSANDRO, GRASSI, Davide, Gudipati, M. S., Mancarella, F., Markus, K., Merlin, F., OROSEI, ROBERTO, RINALDI, GIOVANNA, CARTACCI, MARCO, Cicchetti, A., GIUPPI, Stefano, Hello, Y., Henry, F., Jacquinod, S., Rees, J. M., NOSCHESE, RAFFAELLA, POLITI, ROMOLO, Peter, G., M. C., De Sancti, F., Capaccioni, M., Ciarniello, G., Filacchione, M., Formisano, S., Mottola, A., Raponi, F., Tosi, D., Bockele´e Morvan, S., Erard, C., Leyrat, B., Schmitt, E., Ammannito, G., Arnold, M. A., Barucci, M., Combi, M. T., Capria, P., Cerroni, W. H., Ip, E., Kuehrt, T. B., Mccord, E., Palomba, P., Beck, E., Quirico, G., Piccioni, G., Bellucci, M., Fulchignoni, R., Jaumann, K., Stephan, A., Longobardo, V., Mennella, A., Migliorini, J., Benkhoff, J. P., Bibring, Blanco, Armando, M., Blecka, R., Carlson, U., Carsenty, L., Colangeli, M., Combe, J., Crovisier, P., Drossart, T., Encrenaz, C., Federico, U., Fink, Fonti, Sergio, P., Irwin, Y., Langevin, G., Magni, L., Moroz, Orofino, Vincenzo, U., Schade, F., Taylor, D., Tiphene, G. P., Tozzi, N., Biver, L., Bonal, Combe, J. P. h., D., Despan, E., Flamini, S., Fornasier, A., Frigeri, D., Grassi, M. S., Gudipati, Mancarella, Francesca, K., Marku, F., Merlin, R., Orosei, G., Rinaldi, M., Cartacci, A., Cicchetti, S., Giuppi, Y., Hello, F., Henry, S., Jacquinod, J. M., Ree, R., Noschese, R., Politi, G., Peter, Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma (IASF-Roma), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali - INAF (IAPS), DLR Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG ), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (IFSI), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), DLR Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt [Berlin] (DLR), Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences [Ann Arbor] (AOSS), University of Michigan [Ann Arbor], University of Michigan System-University of Michigan System, Institute of Astronomy [Taiwan] (IANCU), National Central University [Taiwan] (NCU), Department of Earth and Space Sciences [Seattle], University of Washington [Seattle], Laboratoire de Sciences de la Terre, ITA, USA, GBR, FRA, DEU, TWN, NLD, POL, and National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR)

Subjects
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Time Factors, Extraterrestrial Environment, 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences, Comet, 01 natural sciences, water ice, Astrobiology, comet, Diurnal cycle, 0103 physical sciences, Sunrise, Water cycle, 010303 astronomy & astrophysics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 0105 earth and related environmental sciences, [PHYS]Physics [physics], Multidisciplinary, Meteoroid, Ice, Diurnal temperature variation, Temperature, food and beverages, Meteoroids, Environmental science, Volatilization, [PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph], Surface water, cycle of water ice, Water vapor
Abstract

Observations of cometary nuclei have revealed a very limited amount of surface water ice, which is insufficient to explain the observed water outgassing. This was clearly demonstrated on comet 9P/Tempel 1, where the dust jets (driven by volatiles) were only partially correlated with the exposed ice regions. The observations of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko have revealed that activity has a diurnal variation in intensity arising from changing insolation conditions. It was previously concluded that water vapour was generated in ice-rich subsurface layers with a transport mechanism linked to solar illumination, but that has not hitherto been observed. Periodic condensations of water vapour very close to, or on, the surface were suggested to explain short-lived outbursts seen near sunrise on comet 9P/Tempel 1. Here we report observations of water ice on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, appearing and disappearing in a cyclic pattern that follows local illumination conditions, providing a source of localized activity. This water cycle appears to be an important process in the evolution of the comet, leading to cyclical modification of the relative abundance of water ice on its surface.

Published
2015
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12. Seasonal exposure of carbon dioxide ice on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Author

Filacchione G, Raponi A, Capaccioni F, Ciarniello M, Tosi F, Capria MT, De Sanctis MC, Migliorini A, Piccioni G, Cerroni P, Barucci MA, Fornasier S, Schmitt B, Quirico E, Erard S, Bockelee-Morvan D, Leyrat C, Arnold G, Mennella V, Ammannito E, Bellucci G, Benkhoff J, Bibring JP, Blanco A, Blecka MI, Carlson R, Carsenty U, Colangeli L, Combes M, Combi M, Crovisier J, Drossart P, Encrenaz T, Federico C, Fink U, Fonti S, Fulchignoni M, Ip WH, Irwin P, Jaumann R, Kuehrt E, Langevin Y, Magni G, McCord T, Moroz L, Mottola S, Palomba E, Schade U, Stephan K, Taylor F, Tiphene D, Tozzi GP, Beck P, Biver N, Bonal L, Combe JP, Despan D, Flamini E, Formisano M, Frigeri A, Grassi D, Gudipati MS, Kappel D, Longobardo A, Mancarella F, Markus K, Merlin F, Orosei R, Rinaldi G, Cartacci M, Cicchetti A, Hello Y, Henry F, Jacquinod S, Reess JM, Noschese R, Politi R, and Peter G

Abstract

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is one of the most abundant species in cometary nuclei, but because of its high volatility, CO 2 ice is generally only found beneath the surface. We report the infrared spectroscopic identification of a CO 2 ice-rich surface area located in the Anhur region of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Spectral modeling shows that about 0.1% of the 80- by 60-meter area is CO 2 ice. This exposed ice was observed a short time after the comet exited local winter; following the increased illumination, the CO 2 ice completely disappeared over about 3 weeks. We estimate the mass of the sublimated CO 2 ice and the depth of the eroded surface layer. We interpret the presence of CO 2 ice as the result of the extreme seasonal changes induced by the rotation and orbit of the comet., (Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.)

Published
2016
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13. Exposed water ice on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Author

Filacchione G, De Sanctis MC, Capaccioni F, Raponi A, Tosi F, Ciarniello M, Cerroni P, Piccioni G, Capria MT, Palomba E, Bellucci G, Erard S, Bockelee-Morvan D, Leyrat C, Arnold G, Barucci MA, Fulchignoni M, Schmitt B, Quirico E, Jaumann R, Stephan K, Longobardo A, Mennella V, Migliorini A, Ammannito E, Benkhoff J, Bibring JP, Blanco A, Blecka MI, Carlson R, Carsenty U, Colangeli L, Combes M, Combi M, Crovisier J, Drossart P, Encrenaz T, Federico C, Fink U, Fonti S, Ip WH, Irwin P, Kuehrt E, Langevin Y, Magni G, McCord T, Moroz L, Mottola S, Orofino V, Schade U, Taylor F, Tiphene D, Tozzi GP, Beck P, Biver N, Bonal L, Combe JP, Despan D, Flamini E, Formisano M, Fornasier S, Frigeri A, Grassi D, Gudipati MS, Kappel D, Mancarella F, Markus K, Merlin F, Orosei R, Rinaldi G, Cartacci M, Cicchetti A, Giuppi S, Hello Y, Henry F, Jacquinod S, Reess JM, Noschese R, Politi R, and Peter G

Subjects
Diffusion, Gases analysis, Gases chemistry, Spectrum Analysis, Extraterrestrial Environment chemistry, Ice analysis, Meteoroids
Abstract

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 of the comets observed so far. The nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko appears to be fairly uniformly coated with dark, dehydrated, refractory and organic-rich material. Here we report the identification at infrared wavelengths of water ice on two debris falls in the Imhotep region of the nucleus. The ice has been exposed on the walls of elevated structures and at the base of the walls. A quantitative derivation of the abundance of ice in these regions indicates the presence of millimetre-sized pure water-ice grains, considerably larger than in all previous observations. Although micrometre-sized water-ice grains are the usual result of vapour recondensation in ice-free layers, the occurrence of millimetre-sized grains of pure ice as observed in the Imhotep debris falls is best explained by grain growth by vapour diffusion in ice-rich layers, or by sintering. As a consequence of these processes, the nucleus can develop an extended and complex coating in which the outer dehydrated crust is superimposed on layers enriched in water ice. The stratigraphy observed on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is therefore the result of evolutionary processes affecting the uppermost metres of the nucleus and does not necessarily require a global layering to have occurred at the time of the comet's formation.

Published
2016
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14. Cometary science. The organic-rich surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by VIRTIS/Rosetta.

Author

Capaccioni F, Coradini A, Filacchione G, Erard S, Arnold G, Drossart P, De Sanctis MC, Bockelee-Morvan D, Capria MT, Tosi F, Leyrat C, Schmitt B, Quirico E, Cerroni P, Mennella V, Raponi A, Ciarniello M, McCord T, Moroz L, Palomba E, Ammannito E, Barucci MA, Bellucci G, Benkhoff J, Bibring JP, Blanco A, Blecka M, Carlson R, Carsenty U, Colangeli L, Combes M, Combi M, Crovisier J, Encrenaz T, Federico C, Fink U, Fonti S, Ip WH, Irwin P, Jaumann R, Kuehrt E, Langevin Y, Magni G, Mottola S, Orofino V, Palumbo P, Piccioni G, Schade U, Taylor F, Tiphene D, Tozzi GP, Beck P, Biver N, Bonal L, Combe JP, Despan D, Flamini E, Fornasier S, Frigeri A, Grassi D, Gudipati M, Longobardo A, Markus K, Merlin F, Orosei R, Rinaldi G, Stephan K, Cartacci M, Cicchetti A, Giuppi S, Hello Y, Henry F, Jacquinod S, Noschese R, Peter G, Politi R, Reess JM, and Semery A

Abstract

The VIRTIS (Visible, Infrared and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer) instrument on board the Rosetta spacecraft has provided evidence of carbon-bearing compounds on the nucleus of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The very low reflectance of the nucleus (normal albedo of 0.060 ± 0.003 at 0.55 micrometers), the spectral slopes in visible and infrared ranges (5 to 25 and 1.5 to 5% kÅ(-1)), and the broad absorption feature in the 2.9-to-3.6-micrometer range present across the entire illuminated surface are compatible with opaque minerals associated with nonvolatile organic macromolecular materials: a complex mixture of various types of carbon-hydrogen and/or oxygen-hydrogen chemical groups, with little contribution of nitrogen-hydrogen groups. In active areas, the changes in spectral slope and absorption feature width may suggest small amounts of water-ice. However, no ice-rich patches are observed, indicating a generally dehydrated nature for the surface currently illuminated by the Sun., (Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.)

Published
2015
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