Morphology and dynamics of the jets of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: Early-phase development

Lin, Z. Y.; Ip, W. H.; Lai, I. L.; Lee, J. C.; Vincent, J. B.; Lara, L. M.; Bodewits, D.; Sierks, H.; Barbieri, C.; Lamy, P. L.; Rodrigo, R.; Koschny, D.; Rickman, H.; Keller, H. U.; Agarwal, J.; A'Hearn, M. F.; Barucci, M. A.; Bertaux, J. L.; Bertini, I.; Cremonese, G.; ... (2015). Morphology and dynamics of the jets of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: Early-phase development. Astronomy and astrophysics, 583(A11), A11. EDP Sciences 10.1051/0004-6361/201525961

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Aims. The OSIRIS camera onboard the Rosetta spacecraft obtained close-up views of the dust coma of comet 67P. The jet structures can be used to trace their source regions and to examine the possible effect of gas-surface interaction. Methods. We analyzed the wide-angle images obtained in the special dust observation sequences between August and September 2014. The jet features detected in different images were compared to study their time variability. The locations of the potential source regions of some of the jets are identified by ray tracing. We used a ring-masking technique to calculate the brightness distribution of dust jets along the projected distance. Results. The jets detected between August and September 2014 mostly originated in the Hapi region. Morphological changes appeared over a timescale of several days in September. The brightness slope of the dust jets is much steeper than the background coma. This might be related to the sublimation or fragmentation of the emitted dust grains. Interaction of the expanding gas flow with the cliff walls on both sides of Hapi could lead to erosion and material down-fall to the nucleus surface.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

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

UniBE Contributor:

Thomas, Nicolas

Subjects:

500 Science > 530 Physics

ISSN:

0004-6361

Publisher:

EDP Sciences

Language:

English

Submitter:

Katharina Weyeneth-Moser

Date Deposited:

13 Jun 2016 15:28

Last Modified:

08 Aug 2024 09:00

Publisher DOI:

10.1051/0004-6361/201525961

Web of Science ID:

000365072200036

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.81681

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/81681

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