Related papers: Comet nuclei composition and evolution
Comets hold the key to the understanding of our solar system, its formation and its evolution, and to the fundamental plasma processes at work both in it and beyond it. A comet nucleus emits gas as it is heated by the sunlight. The gas…
Dust jets, i.e. fuzzy collimated streams of cometary material arising from the nucleus, have been observed in-situ on all comets since the Giotto mission flew by comet 1P/Halley in 1986. Yet their formation mechanism remains unknown.…
Comets are considered to be some of the most pristine and unprocessed solar system objects accessible to in-situ exploration. Investigating their molecular and elemental composition takes us on a journey back to the early period of our…
Comets are thought to preserve almost pristine dust particles, thus providing a unique sample of the properties of the early solar nebula. The microscopic properties of this dust played a key part in particle aggregation during the…
Comets hold answers to mysteries of the Solar System by recording presolar history, the initial states of planet formation and prebiotic organics and volatiles to the early Earth. Analysis of returned samples from a comet nucleus will…
The Rosetta spacecraft accompanied the comet 67P/C-G for nearly 2 years, collecting valuable data on the neutral and ion composition of the coma. The Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) provided continuous measurements of the in situ plasma…
Cometary dust particles are best preserved remnants of the matter present at the onset of the formation of the Solar System. Space missions, telescopic observations and laboratory analyses advanced the knowledge on the properties of…
The processes that led to the formation of the planetary bodies in the Solar System are still not fully understood. Using the results obtained with the comprehensive suite of instruments on-board ESA's Rosetta mission, we present evidence…
Comets, asteroids, and other small bodies are thought to be remnants of the original planetesimal population of the Solar System. As such, their physical, chemical, and isotopic properties hold crucial details on how and where they formed…
Comets provide a unique insight into the molecular composition and complexity of the material in the primordial solar nebula. Recent results from the Rosetta mission, currently monitoring comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in situ, and ALMA…
Comets have similar compositions to interstellar medium ices, suggesting at least some of their molecules maybe inherited from an earlier stage of evolution. To investigate the degree to which this might have occurred we compare the…
The European Space Agency Rosetta/Philae mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014-2016 is the most complete and diverse investigation of a comet carried out thus far. Yet, many physical and chemical properties of the comet remain…
Comets are a rich reservoir of complex organic molecules. Ground and space-based observatories have recently greatly enhanced the cometary molecular inventory. Although these molecules' origin is believed to be the cometary nucleus, they…
The properties of the smallest subunits of cometary dust contain information on their origin and clues to the formation of planetesimals and planets. Compared to IDPs or particles collected during the Stardust mission, dust collected in the…
We collect observational evidence that supports the scheme of mass transfer on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The obliquity of the rotation axis of 67P causes strong seasonal variations. During perihelion the southern…
The first computational model of solid-phase chemistry in cometary nuclear ices is presented. An astrochemical kinetics model, MAGICKAL, is adapted to trace the chemical evolution in multiple layers of cometary ice, over a representative…
This paper is the result of the International Cometary Workshop, held in Toulouse, France in April 2014, where the participants came together to assess our knowledge of comets prior to the ESA Rosetta Mission. In this paper, we look at the…
Observations of comets and asteroids show that the Solar Nebula that spawned our planetary system was rich in water and organic molecules. Bombardment brought these organics to the young Earth's surface, seeding its early chemistry. Unlike…
Context. Breathtaking imagery recorded during the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission confirmed the bilobate nature of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's nucleus. Its peculiar appearance is not unique among comets. The majority of…
The study of comets affords a unique window into the birth, infancy, and subsequent history of the solar system. There is strong evidence that comets incorporated pristine interstellar material as well as processed nebular matter, providing…