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1.
《Planetary and Space Science》1999,47(6-7):735-744
Understanding the power balance at the surface of the nucleus is essential to study the chemical and physical evolution of a comet. Therefore, we present a detailed energy budget analysis for the surface of a model comet in the orbit of 46P/Wirtanen, target comet of the European space craft mission Rosetta, for a variety of parameters and assumptions. We will show that for a fast spinning Jupiter-family comet such as 46P/Wirtanen with a rotation period of about 6 h, a fast rotator approximation underestimates the effective energy input. This yields lower gas fluxes from the surface. For an 100% active, non-dust covered surface we obtain a water gas flux on the order of about 1.5×1028 molecules s−1 at perihelion, assuming a radius of 600 m. The calculated gas flux of water is within the order of measured values for comet 46P/Wirtanen. But our calculated values are maximum gas fluxes at noon—not averaged over one cometary day or taking the lesser insolation at the polar areas into account. Therefore, we conclude that either the radius of comet 46P/Wirtanen may be much larger than the accepted value of 600 m. A radius in the order of 2 km seems more likely to explain the measurements. Or, an other possibility could be that water-ice particles are blown off from the surface like dust particles. This may also increase the effective surface area of sublimation.  相似文献   

2.
This work is dedicated to the application to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko of a new quasi-3D approach for non-spherically shaped comet nuclei with the aim to interpret the current activity of the comet in terms of initial characteristics and to predict shape and internal stratification evolution of the nucleus. The model is applied to differently shaped nuclei taking into account the characteristics of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko deduced from observations. We focus our attention on the combined effects that shapes and obliquity have on the comet surface and sub-surface evolution. We discuss the results in terms of activity, local dust mantle formation and disruption, erosion of the surface and internal stratigraphy.The results show that differently shaped nuclei can have different internal structures leading to different activity patterns and behaviors. Our calculations have shown that local variations in the dust and gas fluxes can be induced by the nucleus shape. The distribution of “active” areas on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is different because of different shapes, reflecting the illumination conditions on the surface. These shapes can influence the structure of the inner coma, but the coma far away from the nucleus is only marginally affected by the nucleus shape. However, different comet behaviors can arise from differently shaped comet nuclei, especially in terms of local activity, surface and sub-surface characteristics and properties. The water flux local distribution is the most influenced by the shape as it is directly linked to the illumination. Irregular shapes have large shadowing effects that can result in activity patterns on the comet surface.The effects of different pole directions are discussed to see the relations with the nucleus activity and internal structure. It is shown that the orientation of the rotation axis plays a strong role on the surface evolution of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, determining seasonal effects on the fluxes. The activity of the comet changes greatly with the nucleus obliquity leading to pre-post-perihelion differences in the activity and seasonal effects. The effects of the dust deposition and crust formation on the cometary activity have also been simulated and are discussed with respect to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko observations. The dust mantling is also strongly obliquity dependent, with different surface distributions of the dust-covered regions according to the different comet pole orientations. Finally, we show that our model can reproduce the fluxes behavior near perihelion in terms of amplitude and asymmetry, and we estimate 20% of the illuminated surface to be active.  相似文献   

3.
《Planetary and Space Science》1999,47(6-7):855-872
From the current understanding we know that comet nuclei have heterogeneous compositions and complex structures. It is believed that cometary activity is the result of a combination of physical processes in the nucleus, like sublimation and recondensation of volatile ices, dust grains release, phase transition of water ice, depletion of the most volatile components in the outer layers and interior differentiation.The evolution of the comet depends on the sublimation of ices and the release of different gases and dust grains: the formation of a dust crust, the surface erosion and the development of the coma are related to the gas fluxes escaping from the nucleus. New observations, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations suggest that the gas and dust emissions are locally generated, in the so-called active regions. This localized activity is probably superimposed to the global nucleus activity. The differences between active and inactive regions can be attributed to differences in texture and refractory material content of the different areas.In this paper we present the results of numerical models of cometary nucleus evolution, developed in order to understand which are the processes leading to the formation of active and non-active regions on the cometary surface. The used numerical code solves the equations of heat transport and gas diffusion within a porous nucleus composed of different ices—such as water (the dominant constituent), CO2, CO- and of dust grains embedded in the ice matrix.By varying the set of physical parameters describing the initial properties of comet P/Wirtanen, the different behaviour of the icy and dusty areas can be followed.Comet P/Wirtanen is the target of the international ROSETTA mission, the cornerstone ESA mission to a cometary nucleus. The successful design of ROSETTA requires some knowledge of comet status and activity: surface temperatures, amount of active and inactive surface areas, gas production rate and dust flux.  相似文献   

4.
刘灿  赵玉晖  季江徽 《天文学报》2023,64(1):11-125
彗星是太阳系遗留的原始星子,研究彗星彗核的演化对理解太阳系其他天体的形成和演化历史具有重要意义.在太阳的辐射作用下,彗星携带的挥发性成分会发生升华,并带动尘埃运动,造成彗核物质的损失.因此,彗核的升华活动对其表面形貌甚至整体形状演化都会产生影响.从IAU (International Astronomical Union) MPC (Minor Planet Center)获取轨道数据,并考虑了彗核的自转以及进动,利用MONET (Mass lossdriven shape evolution model)形状演化模型对短周期彗星做数值模拟,计算得到了短周期彗星1P/Halley、9P/Tempel 1、 19P/Borrelly、 67P/C-G (Churyumov-Gerasimenko)、 81P/Wild 2和103P/Hartley 2在一个轨道周期内的太阳辐射能量以及表面侵蚀深度的分布,结合其动力学参数讨论了自转、进动和公转等特性对其表面水冰升华分布的影响以及造成南北侵蚀差异的可能性.  相似文献   

5.
One of the two planetary cornerstone missions of the European Space Agency is the Rosetta mission to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Rosetta is a rendezvous mission with a comet nucleus, which combines an Orbiter with a Lander. It will monitor the evolution of the comet nucleus and the coma as a function of increasing and decreasing solar flux input along the comet’s pre- and post-perihelion orbit. Different instrumentations will be used in parallel, from multi-wavelength spectrometry to in-situ measurements of coma and nucleus composition and physical properties. Rosetta will go in orbit around the nucleus of its target comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, when it is still far from the Sun and accompany the comet along its way to perihelion and beyond. In addition the Rosetta Lander Philae will land on the nucleus surface, before the comet is too active to permit such a landing (i.e. at around r = 3 AU) and examine the surface and subsurface composition of the comet nucleus as well as its physical properties.  相似文献   

6.
Spectropolarimetric observations from 5000 to 8000 Å have been obtained for comets P/Austin (1982g) and P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (1982f). The observations were spaced over phase angles of 50–125° for comet Austin and 10–40° for comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The use of spectropolarimetry allowed an evaluation of continuum polarization without molecular line contamination. Especially for comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the curve of polarization versus phase angle resembles curves for asteroids, where the polarization is negative (electric vector maximum parallel to the scattering plane) for phase angles less than 20° and the most negative polarization is from ?1 to ?2%. The negative polarization at backscattering angles may be due to multiple scattering in agglomerated grains, as assumed for asteroids, or to Mie scattering by small dielectric particles. If multiple scattering is important in comet dust, polarization measurements may imply a low albedo, less than 0.08. The polarization of comet Austin remained steady during a large change in the dust production rate. Both comets increased continuum flux by a factor of 2 near perihelion. The continuum of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko had the shape of the solar spectrum with derivations less than 5%. The equivalent width of spectral features of C2, NH2, and O varied as r?2.  相似文献   

7.
One of the goals of comet research is the determination of the chemical composition of the nucleus because it provides us with the clues about the composition of the nebula in which comet nuclei formed. It is well accepted that photo-chemical reactions must be considered to establish the abundances of mother molecules in the coma as they are released from the comet nucleus or from distributed dust sources in the coma. However, the mixing ratios of mother molecules in the coma changes with heliocentric distance. To obtain the abundances in the nucleus relative to those in the coma, we must turn our attention to the release rates of mother molecules from the nucleus as a function of heliocentric distance. For this purpose, we assume three sources for the coma gas: the surface of the nucleus (releasing mostly water vapor), the dust in the coma (the distributed source of several species released from dust particles), and the interior of the porous nucleus (the source of many species more volatile than water). The species diffusing from the interior of the nucleus are released by heat transported into the interior. Thus, the ratio of volatiles relative to water in the coma is a function of the heliocentric distance and provides important information about the chemical composition and structure of the nucleus. Our goal is to determine the abundance ratios of various mother molecules relative to water from many remote-sensing observations of the coma as a function of heliocentric distance. Comet Hale-Bopp is ideal for this purpose since it has been observed using instruments in many different wavelength regions over large ranges of heliocentric distances. The ratios of release rates of species into the coma are than modeled assuming various chemical compositions of the spinning nucleus as it moves from large heliocentric distance through perihelion. Since the heat flow into the nucleus will be different after perihelion from that before perihelion, we can also expect different gas release rates after perihelion compared to those observed before perihelion. Since not all the data are available yet, we report on progress of these calculations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.  相似文献   

8.
The aim of this modelling work is to assess shape changes of cometary nuclei caused by sublimation of ices. The simplest possible model is assumed with the nucleus being initially spherical and its thermal conductivity being neglected. We have calculated the time-dependent sublimation flux versus cometographic latitude. If the rotation axis of the comet is inclined to the orbital plane, then sublimation leads to non-symmetrical changes of the nucleus shape. Calculations were performed for the nuclei of comets Hale–Bopp and Wirtanen.  相似文献   

9.
The micro-imaging dust analysis system (MIDAS) is an essential element among the scientific payload on the international Rosetta mission to comet 46P/Wirtanen. The MIDAS instrument based on an atomic force microscope (AFM) collects small particles drifting outwards from the nucleus surface. AFM is able to image small structures in 3D at nanometer-scale resolution. These images provide morphological and statistical information like grain size distribution on the dust population. In order to support the development of the flight hardware, optimisation of the control functions and consolidation of a proper scheme of data interpretation, laboratory studies with similar instruments were carried out. The obtained data demonstrate the capabilities of this technique. For the first time an instrument is able to observe the smallest (nm-sized) grains which are predicted by models and were to a certain extent deduced from previous measurements on the Giotto and Vega missions to comet 1P/Halley. On larger (μm-sized) particles the complex morphology will be visualised with high precision in 3D, and if present, within these aggregates crystalline materials with defined crystal faces can be identified.  相似文献   

10.
《New Astronomy》2007,12(7):523-532
A 3-D numerical model of comet nuclei is presented. An implicit numerical scheme was developed for the thermal evolution of a spherical nucleus composed of a mixture of ice and dust. The model was tested against analytical solutions, simplified numerical solutions, and 1-D thermal evolution codes. The 3-D code was applied to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko; surface temperature maps and the internal thermal structure was obtained as function of depth, longitude and hour angle. The effect of the spin axis tilt on the surface temperature distribution was studied in detail. It was found that for small tilt angles, relatively low temperatures may prevail on near-pole areas, despite lateral heat conduction. A high-resolution run for a comet model of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with low tilt angle, allowing for crystallization of amorphous ice, showed that the amorphous/crystalline ice boundary varies significantly with depth as a function of cometary latitude.  相似文献   

11.
This work is a continuation of our previous paper about brightening of Comet 17P/Holmes (Kossacki, K.J., Szutowicz, S. [2010]. Icarus 207, 320–340). In that paper we presented results of simulations indicating that the nonuniform crystallization of amorphous water ice itself is probably not sufficient for an explosion. In the present work we investigate the possibility that the explosion is caused by a rapid sublimation of the CO ice leading to the rise of gas pressure above the tensile strength of the nucleus. We simulated evolution of a model nucleus in the orbit of Comet 17P/Holmes. The nucleus is composed of water ice, carbon monoxide ice and dust and has the shape of an elongated ellipsoid. The simulations include crystallization of amorphous ice in the nucleus, changes of the dust mantle thickness, and sublimation of the CO ice. In our model CO is mantling grains composed of dust and amorphous water ice. Orientation of the nuclear spin axis in space is the same as derived in Moreno et al. (Moreno, F., Ortiz, J.L., Santos-Sanz, P., Morales, N., Vidal-Nunez, M.J., Lara, L.M., Gutierrez, P.J. [2008]. Astrophys. J. 677, L63–L66) for Comet Holmes during recent brightening event. Hence, the angle between the orbital and the equatorial planes of the comet is I = 95°, and the cometocentric solar longitude at perihelion is Φ = 210°. The calculations are performed for the south pole being the sub-solar point close to time of the outburst. Our computations indicate, that the CO pressure within the comet nucleus can rise to high values. When the layer between the dust mantle and the crystallization front of the amorphous water ice is very fine grained, few microns in radius, the CO pressure within the nucleus can exceed 10 kPa. This value is the lowest estimate for the tensile strength of the nucleus of Comet Holmes (Reach, W.T., Vaubaillon, J., Lisse, C.M., Holloway, M., Rho, J. [2010]. Icarus 208, 276–292). Hence, when the gas pressure reaches this value the nucleus may explode.  相似文献   

12.
《Planetary and Space Science》1999,47(6-7):839-853
An improved unidimensional model of the heat transport and gas diffusion within a porous cometary nucleus is presented, in which the time-dependent gas diffusion equation is coupled with the heat diffusion equation to describe the energy transport due to sublimation and recondensation of volatiles, but is solved independently using a different discrete time step. Also, the erosion of interfaces within the nucleus, due to the sublimation of ices and the removal of dust, is now treated by means of a continuous adaptation of the discrete grid to the interfaces positions, removing numerical stability problems associated with the variation of structure and composition of the discrete layers. The results of this model are then compared with those of another unidimensional model which does not make use of the above-mentioned numerical methods, both computed for the same set of physical parameters describing comet P/Wirtanen, and the effects of the different modelling assumptions on the results are discussed. A new bidimensional model of the heat transport within a porous comet nucleus is presented, and its results are compared with those obtained from the above-mentioned unidimensional model (modified to include the same physics of the bidimensional model). The ability of bidimensional models to better describe the effects of variations in the local physical conditions on the comet activity is then discussed.  相似文献   

13.
Masateru Ishiguro 《Icarus》2008,193(1):96-104
A thin, bright dust cloud, which is associated with the Rosetta mission target object (67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko), was observed after the 2002 perihelion passage. The neckline structure or dust trail nature of this cloud is controversial. In this paper, we definitively identify the dust trail and the neckline structure using a wide-field CCD camera attached to the Kiso 1.05-m Schmidt telescope. The dust trail of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was evident as scattered sunlight in all images taken between September 9, 2002 and February 1, 2003, whereas the neckline structure became obvious only after late 2002. We compared our images with a semi-analytical dynamic model of dust grains emitted from the nucleus. A fading of the surface brightness of the dust trail near the nucleus enabled us to determine the typical maximum size of the grains. Assuming spherical compact particles with a mass density of 103 kg m−3 and an albedo of 0.04, we deduced that the maximum diameter of the dust particles was approximately 1 cm. We found that the mass-loss rate of the comet at the perihelion was on or before the 1996 apparition, while the mass-loss rate averaged over the orbit reached . The result is consistent with the studies of the dust cloud emitted in the 2002/2003 return. Therefore, we can infer that the activity of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has showed no major change over the past dozen years or so, and the largest grains are cyclically injected into the dust tube lying along the cometary orbit.  相似文献   

14.
The Rosetta spacecraft (S/C), which is planned to meet comet 46P/Wirtanen in 2011, will carry a set of five wave and plasma instruments (i.e. the Rosetta Plasma Consortium). This is to measure the cometary plasma properties from the minimum value of activity of the comet to its maximum value at perihelion. The mutual impedance probe, MIP, is one of those (Trotignon et al., 1999) five. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.  相似文献   

15.
Biele  Jens 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》2002,90(1-4):445-458
As a part of ESA's cornerstone mission ``ROSETTA' to comet 46P/Wirtanen a 100 kgLander will bring a scientific payload of almost 27 kg to the surface of the nucleus.After a first scientific sequence it will operate for a considerable fraction of thecometary orbit around the sun (between 3 AU and 2 AU). Ten experiments with a number of sub-experiments are foreseen; this paper presents the current status of the Lander development and reviews the scientific capabilities of each of the experiments at a time when the Flight Model (FM) of the Lander is already delivered.  相似文献   

16.
A model with subsolar water sublimation on a triaxial, ellipsoidal comet nucleus is presented for the calculation of reactive torques. The resulting differential equations describing the comet's rotation are then Hamiltonian, and gravity-gradients are trivial to include. While effects derived from a weak perturbing function are neither able to change the rotational excitation nor the spin magnitude of the nucleus, it is shown how the spin orientation of comets can change significantly over an orbital run. However, of the four comets studied, 1P, 19P, 46P and the Rosetta target 67P, 19P and 46P were the only objects clearly exhibiting this feature, thereby confirming a technique used to derive the consequences of a more elaborate model of sublimation induced torques. In particular, the rotational parameters of 67P were seen to be very stable, indicating that a highly kinematical model of its rotation for the mapping of the comet's gravitational field during the Rosetta mission can be used. The model's hierarchy with 1P/Halley as the object with highest excitation probability, is consistent with observations.  相似文献   

17.
The flyby of the nucleus of the Comet 19P/Borrelly by the Deep Space 1 spacecraft produced the best views to date of the surface of these interesting objects. It transformed Borrelly from an astronomical object shrouded in coma of gas and dust into a geological object with complex surface processes and a rich history of erosion and landform evolution. Based on analysis of the highest resolution images, stereo images, photometry, and albedo we have mapped four major morphological units and four terrain features. The morphological units are named dark spots, mottled terrain, mesas, and smooth terrain. The features are named ridges, troughs, pits, and hills. In strong contrast to asteroids, unambiguous impact craters were not observed on Borrelly's surface. Because of the relatively short period of this comet, surface erosion by volatile sublimation is, in geologic terms, a very active process. The formation and the morphologies of units and features appear to be driven by differential rates of sublimation erosion. Erosional rates across the comet are probably controlled by solar energy input and the location of the subsolar point during perihelion. Differences in energy input may produce different varieties of sublimation erosional landforms. The terrains on Borrelly suggest that solar energy input could map directly into erosional processes and landforms.  相似文献   

18.
We present a new method to study the long-term evolution of cometary nuclei in order to estimate their original size, and we consider the case of comets 46P/Wirtanen (hereafter 46P) and 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P). We calculate the past evolution of the orbital elements of both comets over 100 000 yr using a Bulirsch–Stoer integrator and over 450 000 yr using a Radau integrator, and we incorporate a realistic model of the erosion of their nucleus. Their long-term orbital evolution is prominently chaotic, resulting from several close encounters with planets, and this result is independent of the choice of the integrator and of the presence or not of non-gravitational forces. The dynamical lifetime of comet 46P is estimated at ∼133 000 yr and that of comet 67P at ∼105 000 yr. Our erosion model assumes a spherical nucleus composed of a macroscopic mixture of two thermally decoupled components, dust and pure water ice. Erosion strongly depends upon the active fraction and the density of the nucleus. It mainly takes place at heliocentric distances <4 au and lasts for only ∼7 per cent of the lifetime. Assuming a density of 300 kg m−3 and an average active fraction over time of 10 per cent, we find an initial radius of ∼1.3 km for 46P and ∼2.8 km for 67P. Upper limit are obtained assuming a density of 100 kg m−3 and an active fraction of 100 per cent, and amounts to 21 km for 46P and 25 km for 67P. Erosion acts as a rejuvenating process of the surface so that exposed materials on the surface may only contain very little quantities of primordial materials. However, materials located just under it (a few centimetres to metres) may still be much less evolved. We will apply this method to several other comets in the future.  相似文献   

19.
We present thermal evolution calculations of inhomogeneous asymmetric initial configurations of a spherical model of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, using a fully 3-dimensional numerical code. The initial composition is amorphous H2O ice and dust, in a “layered-pile” configuration, where layers differing in ice/dust ratio and thermal properties extend over a fraction of the surface area and about 10 m in depth and may overlap. We analyze the effect of one such layer, as well as the combined effect of many layers, randomly distributed. We find that internal inhomogeneities affect both the surface temperature and the activity pattern of the comet. In particular, they may lead to outbursts at large heliocentric distances and also to activity on the night-side of the nucleus. The rates of ablation and depths of dust mantle and crystalline ice outer layer as functions of longitude and latitude are shown to be affected as well.  相似文献   

20.
The paper presents an analysis of the actual brightness change of comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann, which took place in 1995. The consequence of a cometary outburst is the destruction of a fragment of its surface. This causes the emission of comet material from both the surface and from exposed subsurface layers. Therefore, the calculations take into account the scattering cross-sections that come from ice and dust particles. It was assumed that the dust particles are silicates which are characterized by high irregularity of their structure. This assumption is a consequence of the analysis of the results provided by the Rosetta mission to the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The main factor determining the amplitude of a cometary outburst is the mass ejected as well as the loss of ice that holds the individual nucleus structures together. Consequently, this phenomenon can significantly contribute to the destruction and even decay of the cometary nucleus.  相似文献   

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