共查询到20条相似文献，搜索用时 31 毫秒
1.
We present the characteristics of the dust comae of two comets, 126P/IRAS, a member of the Halley family (a near-isotropic comet), and 2P/Encke, an ecliptic comet. We have primarily used mid- and far-infrared data obtained by the ISOPHOT instrument aboard the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) in 1996 and 1997, and mid-infrared data obtained by the SPIRIT III instrument aboard the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) in 1996. We find that the dust grains emitted by the two comets have markedly different thermal and physical properties. P/IRAS's dust grain size distribution appears to be similar to that of fellow family member 1P/Halley, with grains smaller than 5 microns dominating by surface area, whereas P/Encke emits a much higher fraction of big (20 μm and higher) grains, with the grain mass distribution being similar to that which is inferred for the interplanetary dust population. P/Encke's dearth of micron-scale grains accounts for its visible-wavelength classification as a “gassy” comet. These conclusions are based on analyses of both imaging and spectrophotometry of the two comets; this combination provides a powerful way to constrain cometary dust properties. Specifically, P/IRAS was observed preperihelion while 1.71 AU from the Sun, and seen to have a 15-arcmin long mid-infrared dust tail pointing in the antisolar direction. No sunward spike was seen despite the vantage point being nearly in the comet's orbital plane. The tail's total mass at the time was about 8×109 kg. The spectral energy distribution (SED) is best fit by a modified greybody with temperature T=265±15 K and emissivity ε proportional to a steep power law in wavelength λ: ε∝λ−α, where α=0.50±0.20(2σ). This temperature is elevated with respect to the expected equilibrium temperature for this heliocentric distance. The dust mass loss rate was between 150-600 kg/s (95% confidence), the dust-to-gas mass loss ratio was about 3.3, and the albedo of the dust was 0.15±0.03. Carbonaceous material is depleted in the comet's dust by a factor of 2-3, paralleling the C2 depletion in P/IRAS's gas coma. P/Encke, on the other hand, observed while 1.17 AU from the Sun, had an SED that is best fit by a Planck function with T=270±15 K and no emissivity falloff. The dust mass loss rate was 70-280 kg/s (95% confidence), the dust-to-gas mass loss ratio was about 2.3, and the albedo of the dust was about 0.06±0.02. These conclusions are consistent with the strongly curved dust tail and bright dust trail seen by Reach et al. (2000; Icarus 148, 80) in their ISO 12-μm imaging of P/Encke. The observed differences in the P/IRAS and P/Encke dust are most likely due to the less evolved and insolated state of the P/IRAS nuclear surface. If the dust emission behavior of P/Encke is typical of other ecliptic comets, then comets are the major supplier of the interplanetary dust cloud. 相似文献
2.
In view of the solar nebula models, organics-glued dust aggregates (whose disintegration resulted in the two phenomena found in Halley's coma, the dust boundary and small-scale dust structures) originated due to coagulation of iceless dust particles somewhere within the snow line, and then were incorporated into Halley's nucleus as a consequence of the snow line inward motion. This implies that two types of comets exist: outer comets, formed entirely beyond the snow line, and inner comets, similar to Halley, which are bodies intermediate between outer comets and primitive asteroids. The presence of large iceless dust aggregates in nuclei of inner comets constrains the inward drift velocity of meter-sized dust bodies, which in turn implies that the radial transport of water in the solar nebula was predominantly outward. It is shown that in nuclei of inner comets: both the upper mass limit of iceless dust aggregates and the ice mantle thickness increase with decreasing formation heliocentric distance, while the cumulative mass distribution index decreases; the lower limit of the mass index is ∼0.8, and the upper limit of the ice mantle thickness is ∼10−3 cm (∼200 times the interstellar value); the lower limit of the latent heat of organics in organic mantles of submicron particles increases toward small heliocentric distances; the recondensation of organics combined with the growth of dust bodies leads to a fractionation of organics within iceless dust aggregates; last accreted sub-units of an aggregate are always glued by organics with the lowest value of the latent heat, which somewhat exceeds 60 kJ/mol. Based on in situ observations at Halley, the parameters characterizing iceless dust aggregates in that comet are calculated. Finally, feasible observational tests of the conclusions drawn are discussed. 相似文献
3.
《Planetary and Space Science》1999,47(8-9):1029-1050
We predict the amount of cometary, interplanetary, and interstellar cosmic dust that is to be measured by the Cometary and Interstellar Dust Analyzer (CIDA) and the aerogel collector on board the Stardust spacecraft during its fly-by of comet P⧸Wild 2 and during the interplanetary cruise phase. We give the dust flux on the spacecraft during the encounter with the comet using both, a radially symmetric and an axially symmetric coma model. At closest approach, we predict a total dust flux of 1060 m−2 s−1 for the radially symmetric case and 1065 m−2 s−1 for the axially symmetric case. This prediction is based on an observation of the comet at a heliocentric distance of 1.7 AU. We reproduce the measurements of the Giotto and VEGA missions to comet P⧸Halley using the same model as for the Stardust predictions. The planned measurements of interstellar dust by Stardust have been triggered by the discovery of interstellar dust impacts in the data collected by the Ulysses and Galileo dust detector. Using the Ulysses and Galileo measurements we predict that 25 interstellar particles, mainly with masses of about 10−12 g, will hit the target of the CIDA experiment. The interstellar side of the aerogel collector will contain 120 interstellar particles, 40 of which with sizes greater than 1 μm. Furthermore, we investigate the contamination of the CIDA and collector measurements by interplanetary particles during the cruise phase. 相似文献
4.
We present results of polarimetric and photometric observations of bright comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) obtained at the 0.7
m telescope of Kharkov University Observatory from June 18, 1996 to April 24, 1997. The IHW and HB comet filters were used.
The C2 and C3 production rates for Hale-Bopp are more than one order of magnitude larger and the dust production rates are more than two
orders of magnitude larger than the Halley ones at comparable distances. Hence, Hale-Bopp was one of the most dusty comets.
The average UC-BC and BC-RC colours of the dust were −0.02 and 0.13 mag, respectively. The polarization of comet Hale-Bopp
at small phase angles of 4.8–13.0° was in good agreement with the date for comet P1/Halley at the same phase angles in spite
of the fact that the heliocentric distances of comments differed nearly twice. However, at intermediate phase angles of 34–49°
the polarization of comet Hale-Bopp was significantly larger than the polarization of the other dusty comets. It is the first
case of such a large difference found in the continuum polarization of comets. The wavelength dependence of polarization for
Hale-Bopp was steeper than for other dusty comets. The observed degree of polarization for the anti-sunward side of the coma
was permanently higher than that for the sunward shell side. The polarization phase dependence of Hale-Bopp is discussed and
compared with the polarization curves for other dusty comets. The peculiar polarimetric properties of comet Hale-Bopp are
most likely caused by an over-abundance of small or/and absorbing dust particles in the coma.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
5.
V. K. Rosenbush 《Solar System Research》2005,39(4):312-321
Systematic and uniform sets of photometric and polarimetric observations of comet 1P/Halley have been analyzed. The phase dependence of brightness for comet Halley was obtained at phase angles α ranging from 1.4° ≤ α ≤ 65°. The following parameters were determined: the amplitude of the opposition effect Δm = 0.75m ± 0.06m; the half-width at a half-maximum of intensity HWHM = 6.4° ± 1.6°; the linear phase coefficient β = 0.0045 ± 0.0001 mag/deg for α from 30° ≤ α ≤ 65°; and the phase angle at which a nonlinear increase in brightness starts, α opp ≈ 31°. For the first time, the phase-angle dependence was obtained for the color of the dust of comet Halley: the color index BC-RC systematically decreases with increasing phase angle. Such a phase behavior of the dust color can be caused by the decrease in the mean size of dust particles that occurs when the comet approaches the Sun. For comet Halley, the negative polarization branch is almost symmetric; the minimal value of polarization is P
min = −1.54% at a phase angle αmin = 10.5°, and the inversion angle is αinv = 21.7°. A comparative analysis of the phase functions of brightness and polarization has been performed for the cometary dust and atmosphereless bodies. Among the latter are low-albedo asteroids of the P and C types (102 Miriam and 47 Aglaja, respectively), as well as Deimos; high-albedo objects, such as the E-type asteroid 64 Angelina and the icy satellite of Jupiter Europa; and the Moon with its intermediate albedo. The possibility of a weak depression in the negative polarization branch of comets Halley and 47P/Ashbrook-Jackson at phase angles smaller than 2° is discussed.__________Translated from Astronomicheskii Vestnik, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2005, pp. 353–363.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Rosenbush. 相似文献
6.
In situ probing of a very few cometary comae has shown that dust particles present a low albedo and a low density, and that they consist of both rocky material and refractory organics. Remote observations of solar light scattered by cometary dust provide information on the properties of dust particles in the coma of a larger set of comets. The observations of the linear polarization in the coma indicate that the dust particles are irregular, with a size greater (on the average) than about 1 μm. Besides, they suggest, through numerical and experimental simulations, that both compact grains and fluffy aggregates (with a power law of the size distribution in the −2.6 to −3 range), and both rather transparent silicates and absorbing organics are present in the coma. Recent analysis of the cometary dust samples collected by the Stardust mission provide a unique ground truth and confirm, for comet 81P/Wild 2, the results from remote sensing observations. Future space missions to comets should, in the next decade, lead to a more precise characterization of the structure and composition of cometary dust particles. 相似文献
7.
The analysis of the polarized light scattered by cometary dust particles provides information on the physical properties of the solid component of cometary comae for C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp and 1P/Halley. A model of light scattering by a size distribution of aggregates of up to 256 submicron-sized grains (spherical or spheroidal) mixed with single spheroidal particles has been developed, with its parameters adjusted to fit the phase angle and wavelength dependence of the polarization observations. The particles are built of two materials: a non-absorbing silicates-type material and a more absorbing organic-type material. The model reproduces accurately the inversion angle and the positive branch of the polarization phase curves from the visible to the near-infrared spectral domains. A negative branch of the polarization phase curves appears in our model, although the negative branch is not deep enough to reproduce accurately the observations. Significant differences are shown between the two comets, with dominance of small grains in the coma of Comet C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp, well fitted by a distribution of the volume-equivalent diameter, a, following a−3.0 with a lower cutoff around 0.20 μm and an upper cutoff of at least 40 μm. For 1P/Halley, the size distribution follows a−2.8 with a lower cutoff around 0.26 μm and an upper cutoff of about 38 μm. The relative amount of organic-type particles is larger for 1P/Halley while the amount of aggregates, significant for both comets, is larger for C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp. 相似文献
8.
An analysis of the spectra from the PUMA dust-impact mass spectrometers onboard the Vega-1 and Vega-2 spacecraft shows that a large number of the observed, unidentified small-amplitude peaks are produced by impacts of very-low-mass (from 10?17 to 10?20 g) particles. The mass flux of very fine particles accounts for a few percent of the total dust mass flux from comet Halley. The elemental composition of the finest cometary particles is identical to the composition of large particles (10?12–10?16 g), in agreement with present views about the nucleus of comet Halley as an aggregate of interstellar dust. 相似文献
9.
Krishna-Swamy KS Sandford SA Allamandola LJ Witteborn FC Bregman JD 《The Astrophysical journal》1989,340(1):527-549
A brief discussion of the infrared observations from 4 to 20 micrometers of seven comets is presented. The observed infrared emission from comets depends primarily on their heliocentric distance. A model based on grain populations composed of a mixture of silicate and amorphous carbon particles in the mass ratio of about 40 to 1, with a power-law size distribution similar to that inferred for comet Halley, is applied to the observations. The model provides a good match to the observed heliocentric variation of both the 10 micrometers feature and the overall thermal emission from comets West and Halley. Matches to the observations of comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock and the antitail of comet Kohoutek require slightly larger grains. While the model does not match the exact profile and position of the 3.4 micrometers feature discovered in comet Halley, it does produce a qualitative fit to the observed variation of the feature's strength as a function of heliocentric distance. The calculations predict that the continuum under the 3.4 micrometers feature is due primarily to thermal emission from the comet dust when the comet is close to the Sun and to scattered solar radiation at large heliocentric distances, as is observed. A brief discussion of the determination of cometary grain temperatures from the observed infrared emission is presented. It is found that the observed shape of the emission curve from about 4 to 8 micrometers provides the best spectral region for estimating the cometary grain temperature distribution. 相似文献
10.
Lisse C. M. Fernández Y. R. A'hearn M. F. Kostiuk T. Livengood T. A. Käufl H. U. Hoffmann W. F. Dayal A. Ressler M. E. Hanner M. S. Fazio G. G. Hora J. L. Peschke S. B. Grün E. Deutsch L. K. 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》1997,78(1-3):251-257
We present infrared imaging and photometry of the bright, giant comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp). The comet was observed in an
extended infrared and optical observing campaign in 1996–1997. The infrared morphology of the comet was observed to change
from the 6 to 8 jet “porcupine” structure in 1996 to the “pinwheel” structure seen in 1997; this has implications for the
position of the rotational angular momentum vector. Long term light curves taken at 11.3 μm indicate a dust production rate
that varies with heliocentric distance as ∶ r−1.4. Short term light curves taken at perihelion indicate a rotational periodicity of 11.3 hours and a projected dust outflow
speed of ∶ 0.4 km s−1. The spectral energy distribution of the dust on October 31, 1996 is well modeled by a mixture of 70% silicaceous and 30%
carbonaceous non-porous grains, with a small particle dominated size distribution like that seen for comet P/Halley (McDonnell
et al., 1991), an overall dust production rate of 2 × 105 kg s−1, a dust-to-gas ratio of ∶5, and an albedo of 39%.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
11.
We present an analysis of the results of photometric investigations of two distant comets, C/2002 VQ94 (LINEAR) and 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann-1,
obtained with the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The comets under
study demonstrate sufficient activity out of the zone of water ice sublimation (at heliocentric distances longer than 5 AU).
In the spectra of the investigated comets, we found the CO+ and N2+ emission. The presence of this emission may say that the comets were formed in the outer parts of the Solar System, in a
protoplanetary cloud at a temperature ≤25 K. We found that the photometric maximum of the ionosphere (in the CO+ filter) of the comet C/2002 VQ94 (LINEAR) is shifted relative to the photometric center of the dust coma by 1.4″ (7.44 ×
103 km) in the direction deflected by 63° from the direction to the Sun. Using special filters to process the images, we picked
out active structures (jets) in the dust coma of the 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann-1 comet. 相似文献
12.
We analyze the dynamical evolution of Jupiter-family (JF) comets and near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) with aphelion distances Q>3.5 AU, paying special attention to the problem of mixing of both populations, such that inactive comets may be disguised as NEAs. From numerical integrations for 2×106 years we find that the half lifetime (where the lifetime is defined against hyperbolic ejection or collision with the Sun or the planets) of near-Earth JF comets (perihelion distances q<1.3 AU) is about 1.5×105 years but that they spend only a small fraction of this time (∼ a few 103 years) with q<1.3 AU. From numerical integrations for 5×106 years we find that the half lifetime of NEAs in “cometary” orbits (defined as those with aphelion distances Q>4.5 AU, i.e., that approach or cross Jupiter's orbit) is 4.2×105 years, i.e., about three times longer than that for near-Earth JF comets. We also analyze the problem of decoupling JF comets from Jupiter to produce Encke-type comets. To this end we simulate the dynamical evolution of the sample of observed JF comets with the inclusion of nongravitational forces. While decoupling occurs very seldom when a purely gravitational motion is considered, the action of nongravitational forces (as strong as or greater than those acting on Encke) can produce a few Enckes. Furthermore, a few JF comets are transferred to low-eccentricity orbits entirely within the main asteroid belt (Q<4 AU and q>2 AU). The population of NEAs in cometary orbits is found to be adequately replenished with NEAs of smaller Q's diffusing outward, from which we can set an upper limit of ∼20% for the putative component of deactivated JF comets needed to maintain such a population in steady state. From this analysis, the upper limit for the average time that a JF comet in near-Earth orbit can spend as a dormant, asteroid-looking body can be estimated to be about 40% of the time spent as an active comet. More likely, JF comets in near-Earth orbits will disintegrate once (or shortly after) they end their active phases. 相似文献
13.
《Planetary and Space Science》1999,47(6-7):787-795
The infrared emission of various comets can be matched within the framework that all comets are made of aggregated interstellar dust. This is demonstrated by comparing results on Halley (a periodic comet), Borrelly (a Jupiter family short period comet), Hale-Bopp (a long period comet), and extra-solar comets in the β Pictoris disk. Attempts have been made to generalize the chemical composition of comet nuclei based on the observation of cometary dust and volatiles and the interstellar dust model. Finally, we deduce some of the expected dust and surface properties of comet Wirtanen from the interstellar dust model as applied to other comets. 相似文献
14.
As any comet nears the Sun, gas sublimes from the nucleus taking dust with it. Jupiter family comets are no exception. The neutral gas becomes ionized, and the interaction of a comet with the solar wind starts with ion pickup. This key process is also important in other solar system contexts wherever neutral particles become ionized and injected into a flowing plasma such as at Mars, Venus, Io, Titan and interstellar neutrals in the solar wind. At comets, ion pickup removes momentum and energy from the solar wind and puts it into cometary particles, which are then thermalised via plasma waves. Here we review what comets have shown us about how this process operates, and briefly look at how this can be applied in other contexts. We review the processes of pitch angle and energy scattering of the pickup ions, and the boundaries and regions in the comet-solar wind interaction. We use in-situ measurements from the four comets visited to date by spacecraft carrying plasma instrumentation: 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, 1P/Halley, 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup and 19P/Borrelly, to illustrate the process in action. While, of these, comet Halley is not a Jupiter class comet, it has told us the most about cometary plasma environments. The other comets, which are from the Jupiter family, give an interesting comparison as they have lower gas production rates and less-developed interactions. We examine the prospects for Rosetta at comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, another Jupiter family comet where a wide range of gas production rates will be studied. 相似文献
15.
V.A. KrasnopolskyD.J. Christian V. KharchenkoA. Dalgarno S.J. WolkC.M. Lisse S.A. Stern 《Icarus》2002,160(2):437-447
Comet McNaught-Hartley was observed in five 1-h exposures on January 8-14 2001 using the advanced CCD imaging spectrometer on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The X-ray image of the comet does not show a crescent-like shape. The brightest region is offset from the nucleus between the sunward and comet velocity directions. The comet mean X-ray luminosity is equal to 7.8×1015 erg s−1 for photon energy E>150 eV and aperture ρ=1.5×105 km where the comet X-ray brightness exceeds 20% of the peak value. Gas production rate was 1029 s−1 during the observations, and the efficiency of X-ray excitation was equal to 4×10−14 erg AU3/2. Day-to-day variations in X-rays reached a factor of 5. The strongest short-term variation was by a factor of 1.75 for 1600 s. This variation may be explained by a decline in the solar-wind flux by the same factor in ≈800 s. The comet and Earth were seeing different faces of the Sun, and time delay in the solar-wind events on the Earth and the comet was long, equal to 6 days. The best correlation between the comet X-ray luminosity and the solar-wind proton density is for the time delay of 5.5 days and may be explained by the higher velocity of heavy ions.Careful background subtraction made it possible to extract the comet spectrum from 150 to 1000 eV. No signal was detected at E>1000 eV, and a 3σ upper limit to any emission with E>1000 eV is 0.3% of the photon emission at 150-1000 eV. The best χ2-fit model to the spectrum consists of nine narrow emission features. The emission energies and intensities are in good agreement with a charge exchange spectrum calculated by us for the slow solar wind. Using this spectrum, we identify the observed emissions as (Ne7++Mg7++Mg8+) at 195 eV, (Mg8++Mg9++Si8+) at 250 eV, C5+ at 370 and 460 eV, O6+ at 560 eV, O7+ at 650, 780, and 840 eV, and Ne8+ at 940 eV. X-ray spectroscopy of comets may be used to diagnose the solar-wind composition and its interaction with comets. 相似文献
16.
Alex D. Storrs 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》1995,71(3):99-102
The observational determination of coma outflow velocity for gaseous species is fairly straightforward using high-resolution spectroscopy. The determination of the outflow speed of the dust is much more difficult. Most sources cite Bobrovnikoff (1954). This brief report is not a strictly refereed publication, however, and mixes data from different comets.We present here a simple analysis of some data from the International Halley Watch (IHW) archive. Differences between continuum images from successive nights show dust jets and shells clearly. Their motion is apparent to first order from the edges of the features. The component of the dust outflow velocity perpendicular to the observer's line of sight may thus be determined. This is of course a lower limit on the dust outflow velocity. Many measurements, at different heliocentric distances (R), allow determination of the heliocentric dependence of the dust outflow velocity.We find that the dust outflow velocity in comet P/Halley varied as R
–0.41
. If data from an outburst at 14 AU (Sekanina et al. 1992) is included in the fit, this dependence becomes R
–0.55. This confirms the canonical (e.g. Delsemme 1982) inverse-square-root law, and supports the conclusion of Storrs et al. (1992) on the variability of cometary gas-to-dust ratios.Space Telescope Science Institute 相似文献
17.
We report the detection of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's dust trail and nucleus in 24 μm Spitzer Space Telescope images taken February 2004. The dust trail is not found in optical Palomar images taken June 2003. Both the optical and infrared images show a distinct neck-line tail structure, offset from the projected orbit of the comet. We compare our observations to simulated images using a Monte Carlo approach and a dynamical model for comet dust. We estimate the trail to be at least one orbit old (6.6 years) and consist of particles of size ?100 μm. The neck-line is composed of similar sized particles, but younger in age. Together, our observations and simulations suggest grains 100 μm and larger in size dominate the total mass ejected from the comet. The radiometric effective radius of the nucleus is 1.87±0.08 km, derived from the Spitzer observation. The Rosetta spacecraft is expected to arrive at and orbit this comet in 2014. Assuming the trail is comprised solely of 1 mm radius grains, we compute a low probability (∼10−3) of a trail grain impacting with Rosetta during approach and orbit insertion. 相似文献
18.
Frans J. M. Rietmeijer Joseph A. Nuth Aurora Pun 《Meteoritics & planetary science》2013,48(10):1823-1840
This thermal annealing experiment at 1000 K for up to 167 h used a physical mixture of vapor phase‐condensed magnesiosilica grains and metallic iron nanograins to test the hypothesis that a mixture of magnesiosilica grains and an Fe‐source would lead to the formation of ferromagnesiosilica grains. This exploratory study found that coagulation and thermal annealing of amorphous magnesiosilica and metallic grains yielded ferromagnesiosilica grains with the Fe/(Fe + Mg) ratios in interplanetary dust particles. Furthermore, decomposition of brucite present in the condensed magnesiosilica grains was the source for water and the cause of different iron oxidation states, and the formation of amorphous Fe3+‐ferrosilica, amorphous Fe3+‐Mg, Fe‐silicates, and magnesioferrite during thermal annealing. Fayalite and ferrosilite that formed from silica/FeO melts reacted with forsterite and enstatite to form Mg, Fe‐silicates. The presence of iron in different oxidation states in extraterrestrial materials almost certainly requires active asteroid‐like parent bodies. If so, the possible presence of trivalent Fe compounds in comet P/Halley suggests that Halley‐type comets are a mixture of preserved presolar and processed solar nebula dust. The results from this thermal annealing experiment further suggest that the Fe‐silicates detected in the impact‐induced ejecta from comet 9P/Temple 1 might be of secondary origin and related to the impact experiment or to processing in a regolith. 相似文献
19.
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 is the presence of rather flat areas: floors of craters and other depressions, mesas and terraces. This implies that flattening surfaces or planation is a process typical for the comet nuclei. Planation seems to work through the sublimation-driven slope collapse and retreat. This requires effective sublimation so this process should work only when a comet is close to the Sun and if on the nucleus there are starting slopes, steep and high enough to support the “long-distance” avalanching of the collapsing material. If the surface had no starting slopes, then instead of planation, the formation of pitted-and-hilly surfaces should occur. An example of this could be the mottled terrain of the Borelly nucleus. Both ways of the sublimational evolution on the nucleus surface should lead to accumulation of cometary regolith. The thickness of the degassed regolith is not known, but it is obvious that in surface depressions, including the flat-floor ones, it should be larger compared with nondepression areas. This may have implications for the in situ study of comets by the Deep Impact and Rosetta missions.Our morphological analysis puts constraints on the applicability of the popular “rubble-pile comet nucleus” hypothesis (Weissman, 1986. Are cometery nuclei primordial rubble piles? Nature 320, 242-244.). We believe that the rubble pile hypothesis can be applicable to the blocky Halley nucleus. The Borelly and Wild 2 nuclei also could be rubble piles. But in these cases the “rubbles” have to be either smaller than 30-50 m (a requirement to keep lineament geometry close to ideal), or larger than 1-2 km (a requirement to form the rather extended smooth, flat surfaces of mesa tops and crater floors). Another option is that the Borelly and Wild 2 nuclei are not rubble piles.In relation to surface morphology we suggest that three end-member types of the comet nuclei may exist: (1) impact cratered “pristine” bodies, (2) non-cratered fragments of catastrophic disruption, and (3) highly Sun-ablated bodies. In this threefold classification, the Wild 2 nucleus is partially ablated primarily cratered body. Borrelly is significantly ablated and could be either primarily cratered or not-cratered fragment. Halley is certainly partially ablated but with the available images it is difficult to say if remnants of impact craters do exist on it.Recently published observations and early results of analysis of the Tempel 1 nucleus images taken by Deep Impact mission are in agreement with our conclusions on the processes responsible for the Halley, Borrelly and Wild 2 nuclei morphologies. In particular, we have now more grounds to suggest that decrease in crater numbers and increase of the role of smooth flat surfaces in the sequence Wild 2?Tempel 1?Borelli reflects a progress in the sublimational degradation of the nucleus surface during comet passages close to the Sun. 相似文献
20.
R. A. Lyttleton 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》1980,23(1):27-39
The theory of the Poynting-Robertson effect is applied to the motion of meteors relative to a parent-comet describing an undisturbed elliptic orbit. It is shown that initially any emitted particle proceeds to move retrogressively away from the comet to a certain maximum angular distance (as seen from the Sun) depending on its s-value, and thereafter undergoes relative motion in the opposite forward direction. The time taken to reach this greatest elongation behind the comet is the same for all particles, and after twice this time the particles will have returned to zero angular displacement relative to the comet. As the inward radial displacement is of far smaller order of magnitude, this means that a swarm of particles will come together again simultaneously, and then move on forwards relative to the comet as they are drawn in slowly towards the Sun. For comet Encke the time for the elongation to return to zero is about 6600 y, for Halley it is about 2×105 y, and for Tempel-Tuttle (1965 IV) just over 105 y. Since this last comet is known to have been deflected from a long-period orbit to a short-period orbit in the year 126 A.D., the theory yields an upper limit to the s-values of about 2.3×10–2 g cm–2 for such of its particles as have spread right round the orbit to give rise to the annual November Leonids. Also, for the great meteor-storms associated with this comet, the particles are still moving close behind the comet itself, and their s-values must be about 6.2×10–2 g cm–2. This result together with their observed brightnesses suggest that the particles have an effective density little more than 0.1 g cm–3. 相似文献