Geologic mapping of the Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko's Northern hemisphere

Giacomini, L.; Massironi, M.; Elmaarry, Mohamed Ramy; Penasa, L.; Pajola, M.; Thomas, Nicolas; Lowry, S. C.; Barbieri, C.; Cremonese, G.; Ferri, F.; Naletto, G.; Bertini, I.; La Forgia, F.; Lazzarin, M.; Marzari, F.; Sierks, H.; Lamy, P. L.; Rodrigo, R.; Rickman, H.; Koschny, D.; ... (2016). Geologic mapping of the Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko's Northern hemisphere. Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 462(Suppl 1), S352-S367. Oxford University Press 10.1093/mnras/stw2848

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The Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS), the scientific imaging system onboard the Rosetta mission, has been acquiring images of the nucleus of the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko since 2014 August with a resolution which allows a detailed analysis of its surface. Indeed, data reveal a complex surface morphology which is likely the expression of different processes which occurred at different times on the cometary nucleus. In order to characterize these different morphologies and better understand their distribution, we performed a geologic mapping of comet’s 67P Northern hemisphere in which features have been distinguished based on their morphological, textural and stratigraphic characteristics. For this purpose, we used narrow-angle camera images acquired in 2014 August and September with a spatial scale ranging from 1.2 to 2.4 m pixel–1. Several different geologic units have been identified on the basis of their different surface textures, granulometry and morphology. Some of these units are distinctive and localized, whereas others are more common and distributed all over the Northern hemisphere. Moreover, different types of linear features have been distinguished on the basis of their morphology. Some of these lineaments have never been observed before on a comet and can offer important clues on the internal structures of the nucleus itself. The geologic mapping results presented here will allow us to better understand the processes which affected the nucleus’ surface and thus the origin and evolutionary history of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Physics Institute > Space Research and Planetary Sciences

UniBE Contributor:

Elmaarry, Mohamed Ramy, Thomas, Nicolas

Subjects:

500 Science > 520 Astronomy
500 Science > 530 Physics
600 Technology > 620 Engineering

ISSN:

0035-8711

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Language:

English

Submitter:

Katharina Weyeneth-Moser

Date Deposited:

06 Jul 2017 10:58

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:03

Publisher DOI:

10.1093/mnras/stw2848

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.96916

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/96916

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