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The diurnal cycle of water ice on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
- Source :
- Nature, Nature, Nature Publishing Group, 2015, 525 (7570), pp.500-503. ⟨10.1038/nature14869⟩, Nature, 2015, 525 (7570), pp.500-503. ⟨10.1038/nature14869⟩
- Publication Year :
- 2015
-
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.
- 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
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00280836, 14764679, and 14764687
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Nature, Nature, Nature Publishing Group, 2015, 525 (7570), pp.500-503. ⟨10.1038/nature14869⟩, Nature, 2015, 525 (7570), pp.500-503. ⟨10.1038/nature14869⟩
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....e5330bb0deb4c89d17701fde1433fa8b