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   

MASS FLUX OF ASTEROIDAL ORIGIN METEOROIDS ON PERIODIC COMET NUCLEI     

R. L. HAWKES  R. A. EATON 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》2004,95(1-4):187-195

We examine the potential contamination of cometary nuclei through impacts from asteroidal origin meteoroids. The paper uses a simple model and has the goal of determining whether asteroidal contamination is potentially significant. We assume a meteoroid power law mass distribution with index values in the range from s=1.83 to s=2.09. We used maximum and minimum models which we believe will bracket the true meteoroid mass distribution. We identify those comets which are expected to be most significantly contaminated, and find values of up to 3.6 kg of asteroidal meteoroid impact per square meter of the cometary surface per orbital revolution. This is less than the expected mass loss per perihelion passage for most comets. Therefore any remnant effects of the contamination will depend on the penetration depth of the meteoroids in the cometary nucleus, and possibly on the distribution of active and inactive areas on cometary nuclei. We present a simple model which suggests that even small meteoroids will embed relatively deeply into a cometary nucleus.  相似文献   

由对FRⅡ射电星系的X射线观测试预言射电噪活动星系核的X射线喷流     

白金明 《天文研究与技术》2003,(1):19-25

在早期的文章中,基于耀变体(Blazar)的知识,我们预言了在射电噪活动星系核(AGN)中心10 kpc范围内X射线喷流的存在.钱得拉(Chandra)卫星最近对低功率射电星系的X射线观测与我们的预言相一致.在本文中我们研究了kpc尺度喷流中的电子加速,并建议通过对强的FR Ⅱ射电星系中所预言的X射线喷流的钱得拉卫星的X射线的观测,来研究红的耀变体中的康普顿冷却以及在内部致密喷流和大尺度延伸喷流间环境的不同.以上的研究可以进一步检验我们的关于射电噪活动星系核中kpc尺度X射线喷流的模型.  相似文献   

彗星等离子体某些特征的讨论     

李中元  李嘉巍  段素平  陈耀  石志东 《紫金山天文台台刊》2003,(1)

本文讨论了彗星中尘埃粒子的充电机制 ,带电特性和平衡电势的变化规律 ,分析了彗星尘埃的破碎特性和临界半径 ,得出了很有意义的结果  相似文献   

CCD Polarimetric Imaging Of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)     

E. Hadamcik  A. C. Levassuer-Regourd  J. B. Renard 《Earth, Moon, and Planets》1997,78(1-3):365-371

Polarimetric observations of the light scattered by dust have been carried out at Pic-du-Midi Observatory with the 2 m telescope in June and September–October 1996, and at Haute-Provence Observatory with the 0.80 m telescope in April 1997. They cover a total number of 11 nights and a large (6.9°–47.7°) phase angle range. The spatial resolution allows to underline structures in the coma, as well in the brightness images as in the polarization maps, with a correlation between the regions of bright structures and the regions of higher polarization. A clear difference appears between the sunward and antisunward side, with higher polarization on the antisunward side. The phase angle coverage allows us to obtain a polarimetric phase curve for the whole coma and to compare it with other cometary phase curves. The degree of polarization is higher for Hale-Bopp than for the comets previously observed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.  相似文献   

云凝结核浓度对南京地区一次冰雹云过程影响的数值研究          下载免费PDF全文

刘晓莉  朱煜  孟翠丽  屈家安 《大气科学学报》2019,42(6):936-943

采用WRF模式与包含了云凝结核(Cloud Condensation Nuclei,CCN)浓度和霰雹密度预报的NSSL(National Severe Storm Laboratory,国家强风暴实验室)微物理方案,模拟不同CCN初始浓度条件下南京地区的一次冰雹云过程,分析不同CCN初始浓度影响下冰雹云过程的宏微观演变特征,以及对流发展不同阶段的水凝物粒子及流场、温度场的垂直分布特征。研究发现:1)较大的CCN初始浓度虽然抑制了前期对流降水,但对后期对流降水的产生有促进作用;2)CCN初始浓度的增加使得模拟雷达回波的强回波区域(大于40 dBz)缩小,中等强度区域(小于40 dBz)扩张。3)CCN初始浓度增大不利于对流发展初期云雨自动转化过程的发生,但是促进了冰晶与雪的产生,使得冰雹含量峰值出现的时间推迟。4)CCN浓度增大抑制了雨水产生,间接使得霰粒子更倾向于干增长,平均密度更小;5)较大的CCN浓度促使冰雹云单体的发展时间增长。  相似文献   

椒江河口洪季最大浑浊带核部的悬沙分选机制     

徐海  李伯根 《海洋通报》2009,28(5)

以实测悬沙粒径、流速、含沙量资料为基础,通过悬沙不同粒级组分、中值粒径以及粒度参数的统计,分析椒江河口最大浑浊带核部悬沙粒径分布变化特性。研究表明,悬沙粒径分选主要受物质来源、潮流动力作用下底部部分物质再悬浮和絮凝沉降3个因素的影响。其中第二个因素起主导作用,大潮期比小潮期显著,第三个因素的作用主要发生在涨落憩前后低流速期,并在表层较近底层的水体明显。  相似文献   

庐山变质核杂岩构造的初步研究   总被引：12，自引：2，他引：12  

项新葵  许建华 《华东地质学院学报》1994,17(1):11-17

  相似文献   

关于地球磁场极性反转机制的思索     

杨合群 《西北地质》2002,35(3):126-130

地球磁场极性在地质历史中发生过相当频繁的倒转。作者将地球内部划分为岩石圈－软流圈－中圈－液圈－固核等5个动力学圈层，认为中圈与固核间可异步旋转；地球偶极磁场由中圈与固核异步旋转时所驱动的液圈中的封闭涡流与系磁场作用产生；该偶极子场极性由地球所通过的银道面上侧或下侧磁场方向及液圈涡流的方向共同决定，二者之一反向，极性发生倒转。  相似文献   

西沙群岛大气中海盐粒子的分布特征   总被引：9，自引：1，他引：9  

吴兑  游积平  关越坚 《热带气象学报》1996,12(2):122-129

分析了在西沙永兴岛观测的Ｃｌ＾－海盐核资料，主要结果有：（１）东北季风期干直径大于２μｍ的Ｃｌ＾－核平均浓度８７８个／Ｌ，平均含盐量１０５．４μｇ／ｍ＾３，其中干直径大于４μｍ的特大核平均为１９０个／Ｌ，最大间观测到干直径５７μｍ的Ｃｌ＾－粒子，均较该地在１９８７年５月西南季风盛行期的观测值高。谱型呈准单调下降的幂函数递减谱。（２）随距海面高度增加海盐粒子浓度与含盐量均有所减小。（３）Ｃｌ＾－粒子  相似文献