Comet nuclei: Morphology and implied processes of surface modification     

A.T. Basilevsky  H.U. Keller 《Planetary and Space Science》2006,54(8):808-829

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   

On the orbits and masses of the satellites of the Pluto-Charon system     

Man Hoi Lee  S.J. Peale 《Icarus》2006,184(2):573-583

Two small satellites of Pluto, S/2005 P1 (hereafter P1) and S/2005 P2 (hereafter P2), have recently been discovered outside the orbit of Charon, and their orbits are nearly circular and nearly coplanar with that of Charon. Because the mass ratio of Charon-Pluto is ∼0.1, the orbits of P2 and P1 are significantly non-Keplerian even if P2 and P1 have negligible masses. We present an analytic theory, with P2 and P1 treated as test particles, which shows that the motion can be represented by the superposition of the circular motion of a guiding center, the forced oscillations due to the non-axisymmetric components of the potential rotating at the mean motion of Pluto-Charon, the epicyclic motion, and the vertical motion. The analytic theory shows that the azimuthal periods of P2 and P1 are shorter than the Keplerian orbital periods, and this deviation from Kepler's third law is already detected in the unperturbed Keplerian fit of Buie and coworkers. In this analytic theory, the periapse and ascending node of each of the small satellites precess at nearly equal rates in opposite directions. From direct numerical orbit integrations, we show the increasing influence of the proximity of P2 and P1 to the 3:2 mean-motion commensurability on their orbital motion as their masses increase within the ranges allowed by the albedo uncertainties. If the geometric albedos of P2 and P1 are high and of order of that of Charon, the masses of P2 and P1 are sufficiently low that their orbits are well described by the analytic theory. The variation in the orbital radius of P2 due to the forced oscillations is comparable in magnitude to that due to the best-fit Keplerian eccentricity, and there is at present no evidence that P2 has any significant epicyclic eccentricity. However, the orbit of P1 has a significant epicyclic eccentricity, and the prograde precession of its longitude of periapse with a period of 5300 days should be easily detectable. If the albedos of P2 and P1 are as low as that of comets, the large inferred masses induce significant short-term variations in the epicyclic eccentricities and/or periapse longitudes on the 400-500-day timescales due to the proximity to the 3:2 commensurability. In fact, for the maximum inferred masses, P2 and P1 may be in the 3:2 mean-motion resonance, with the resonance variable involving the periapse longitude of P1 librating. Observations that sample the orbits of P2 and P1 well on the 400-500-day timescales should provide strong constraints on the masses of P2 and P1 in the near future.  相似文献   

有关边界层问题中一类奇异积分方程新的存在性结果     

石丽莉  张高勋 《成都信息工程学院学报》2006,21(6):891-896

对边界层理论新结果中出现的一类奇异积分方程w（t）=∫1 t（1-s）（λ＋λs＋s）/w（s）ds＋（1-t）∫t 0s/w（s）ds,t∈（0,1）进行讨论，并得出了上述方程在λ∈（-1/2,0）上正解存在性的新结果。  相似文献   

A charge-coupled device study of high-latitude Galactic structure: testing the model parameters     

S. Karaali  S. G. Ak  S. Bilir  Y. Karata&#;  G. Gilmore † 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2003,343(3):1013-1024

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An atlas of the optical spectrum of supernova 1987A in the large magellanic cloud     

V. J. Mclntyre  A. C. Gilmore  J. B. Hearnshaw 《Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy》1990,11(1):81-123

Photographic spectra of SN1987A in the LMC have been obtained from 1987 February 25 to 1988 June 30. Microdensitometer tracings of these have been reduced to intensity and corrections for instrumental response have been applied to the spectra. This paper presents these data in an atlas format, discusses the reduction procedures in detail, and presents radial velocity measurements of selected lines in the spectra  相似文献   

Petroleum exploration potential of Tamtsag Basin     

SUN Guo-qing  GUO Qing-xia  ZHANG Ya-jin  ZHAO Hong-wen 《世界地质(英文版)》2004,7(1)

The Tamtsag Basin is located in the extreme eastern portion of the Mongolia. The Basin and its counterpart in China (the Hailar Basin) are united a whole basin on the structural setting. In recent years, the Tamtsag Basin attracts more and more attention with the important exploration discovered in the 19th block by SOCO and in Hailar Basin of China. This paper discusses the exploration potential of Tamtsag Basin from the viewpoint of petroleum geology.  相似文献   

基于PowerBuilder的信息系统的权限控制     

罗卫敏 《成都信息工程学院学报》2004,19(2):209-213

针对信息系统安全的考虑,介绍在PowerBuilder环境中对用户权限的具体控制.  相似文献   

CCD photometry inVRI bands of the galactic cluster NGC 2818     

R. Surendiranath  N. Kameswara Rao  Ram Sagar  J. S. Nathan  K. K. Ghosh 《Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy》1990,11(2):151-166

bdAbstract The open cluster NGC 2818 containing a planetary nebula has been observed inVRI bands using the CCD system at prime focus of the 2.3-metre Vainu Bappu Telescope. The study extending to starsV ∼ 21 magnitude establishes the distance modulus as(m-M) ₀ = 12.9 ±0.1 for the cluster. Based on the fitting of theoretical isochrones computed for solar metallicity, an age of 5(±1) × 10₈ years has been assigned to the cluster. Association of the planetary nebula with the cluster indicates that the progenitor mass of the planetary nebula on the main sequence is ≥2.5M_⊙ Based on observations obtained with the Vainu Bappu Telescope.  相似文献   

Plane of elastic non-resisting tension material under foundation structures     

A. Baratta  I. Corbi 《国际地质力学数值与分析法杂志》2004,28(6):531-542

In the frame of 2D-static problems one approaches the problem of elastic-NRT (not-resisting tension) semi-plane loaded on its limit line. This problem is intended to model the stress situation induced in the soil by a foundation structure. The solution, in terms of activated stress field, is searched for in the class of stress fields satisfying equilibrium and admissibility conditions, by applying an energy approach. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

广西老厂铅锌矿床地质特征及其成因探讨     

宁浦功 《南方国土资源》1992,(4)

本文是在专题研究基础上,探讨广西老厂铅锌矿床地质特征和矿床成因。该矿床位于海洋山复式背斜南段的老厂穹窿构造核部,铅锌矿化受构造、地层和岩性控制。矿体呈脉状,产于NE向组张扭性断裂构造中;围岩为寒武系白云岩,板岩、砂岩;矿石类型以锌为主,矿物成分简单,以闪锌矿、方铅矿与石英、白云石为主,具充填、交代矿石结构、构造,矿石平均品位含Zn9.94%、Pb1.50%;围岩蚀变主要为硅化、绢云母化和碳酸盐化。据地层岩石元素丰度值、稀土元素配分和稳定同位素数据、资料,探讨了成矿物质来源于围岩,热液主要来自大气降水。因此,认为本矿床实属产于寒武系轻变质岩中的层控矿型大气降水热液铅锌矿床。  相似文献