On the nucleus structure and activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Holger Sierks; Cesare Barbieri; Philippe L. Lamy; Rafael Rodrigo; Detlef Koschny; Hans Rickman; Horst Uwe Keller; Jessica Agarwal; Michael F. A'Hearn; Francesco Angrilli; Anne-Therese Auger; M. Antonella Barucci; Jean-Loup Bertaux; Ivano Bertini; Sebastien Besse; Dennis Bodewits; Claire Capanna; Gabriele Cremonese; Vania Da Deppo; Björn Davidsson; Stefano Debei; Mariolino De Cecco; Francesca Ferri; Sonia Fornasier; Marco Fulle; Robert Gaskell; Lorenza Giacomini; Olivier Groussin; Pablo Gutierrez-Marques; Pedro J. Gutiérrez; Carsten Güttler; Nick Hoekzema; Stubbe F. Hviid; Wing-Huen Ip; Laurent Jorda; Jörg Knollenberg; Gabor Kovacs; J. Rainer Kramm; Ekkehard Kührt; Michael Küppers; Fiorangela La Forgia; Luisa M. Lara; Monica Lazzarin; Cédric Leyrat; Josè J. Lopez Moreno; Sara Magrin; Simone Marchi; Francesco Marzari; Matteo Massironi; Harald Michalik; Richard Moissl; Stefano Mottola; Giampiero Naletto; Nilda Oklay; Maurizio Pajola; Marco Pertile; Frank Preusker; Lola Sabau; Frank Scholten; Colin Snodgrass; Nicholas Thomas; Cecilia Tubiana; Jean-Baptiste Vincent; Klaus-Peter Wenzel; Mirco Zaccariotto; Martin Pätzold

doi:10.1126/science.aaa1044

On the nucleus structure and activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Holger Sierks, Cesare Barbieri, Philippe L. Lamy, Rafael Rodrigo, Detlef Koschny, Hans Rickman, Horst Uwe Keller, Jessica Agarwal, Michael F. A'Hearn, Francesco Angrilli, Anne-Therese Auger, M. Antonella Barucci, Jean-Loup Bertaux, Ivano Bertini, Sebastien Besse, Dennis Bodewits, Claire Capanna, Gabriele Cremonese, Vania Da Deppo, Björn DavidssonStefano Debei, Mariolino De Cecco, Francesca Ferri, Sonia Fornasier, Marco Fulle, Robert Gaskell, Lorenza Giacomini, Olivier Groussin, Pablo Gutierrez-Marques, Pedro J. Gutiérrez, Carsten Güttler, Nick Hoekzema, Stubbe F. Hviid, Wing-Huen Ip, Laurent Jorda, Jörg Knollenberg, Gabor Kovacs, J. Rainer Kramm, Ekkehard Kührt, Michael Küppers, Fiorangela La Forgia, Luisa M. Lara, Monica Lazzarin, Cédric Leyrat, Josè J. Lopez Moreno, Sara Magrin, Simone Marchi, Francesco Marzari, Matteo Massironi, Harald Michalik, Richard Moissl, Stefano Mottola, Giampiero Naletto, Nilda Oklay, Maurizio Pajola, Marco Pertile, Frank Preusker, Lola Sabau, Frank Scholten, Colin Snodgrass, Nicholas Thomas, Cecilia Tubiana, Jean-Baptiste Vincent, Klaus-Peter Wenzel, Mirco Zaccariotto, Martin Pätzold

School of Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Images from the OSIRIS scientific imaging system onboard Rosetta show that the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko consists of two lobes connected by a short neck. The nucleus has a bulk density less than half that of water. Activity at a distance from the Sun of >3 astronomical units is predominantly from the neck, where jets have been seen consistently. The nucleus rotates about the principal axis of momentum. The surface morphology suggests that the removal of larger volumes of material, possibly via explosive release of subsurface pressure or via creation of overhangs by sublimation, may be a major mass loss process. The shape raises the question of whether the two lobes represent a contact binary formed 4.5 billion years ago, or a single body where a gap has evolved via mass loss.

Original language	English
Article number	aaa1044
Pages (from-to)	1-5
Number of pages	5
Journal	Science
Volume	347
Issue number	6220
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa1044
Publication status	Published - 23 Jan 2015

Access to Document

10.1126/science.aaa1044

http://oro.open.ac.uk/43014/

Colin Snodgrass
- School of Physics and Astronomy - Personal Chair of Planetary Astronomy
Person: Academic: Research Active

Cite this

Sierks, H., Barbieri, C., Lamy, P. L., Rodrigo, R., Koschny, D., Rickman, H., Keller, H. U., Agarwal, J., A'Hearn, M. F., Angrilli, F., Auger, A.-T., Barucci, M. A., Bertaux, J.-L., Bertini, I., Besse, S., Bodewits, D., Capanna, C., Cremonese, G., Da Deppo, V., ... Pätzold, M. (2015). On the nucleus structure and activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Science, 347(6220), 1-5. Article aaa1044. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa1044

@article{2913209fe1b1477a940b7923842fbeda,

title = "On the nucleus structure and activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko",

abstract = "Images from the OSIRIS scientific imaging system onboard Rosetta show that the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko consists of two lobes connected by a short neck. The nucleus has a bulk density less than half that of water. Activity at a distance from the Sun of >3 astronomical units is predominantly from the neck, where jets have been seen consistently. The nucleus rotates about the principal axis of momentum. The surface morphology suggests that the removal of larger volumes of material, possibly via explosive release of subsurface pressure or via creation of overhangs by sublimation, may be a major mass loss process. The shape raises the question of whether the two lobes represent a contact binary formed 4.5 billion years ago, or a single body where a gap has evolved via mass loss.",

author = "Holger Sierks and Cesare Barbieri and Lamy, {Philippe L.} and Rafael Rodrigo and Detlef Koschny and Hans Rickman and Keller, {Horst Uwe} and Jessica Agarwal and A'Hearn, {Michael F.} and Francesco Angrilli and Anne-Therese Auger and Barucci, {M. Antonella} and Jean-Loup Bertaux and Ivano Bertini and Sebastien Besse and Dennis Bodewits and Claire Capanna and Gabriele Cremonese and {Da Deppo}, Vania and Bj{\"o}rn Davidsson and Stefano Debei and {De Cecco}, Mariolino and Francesca Ferri and Sonia Fornasier and Marco Fulle and Robert Gaskell and Lorenza Giacomini and Olivier Groussin and Pablo Gutierrez-Marques and Guti{\'e}rrez, {Pedro J.} and Carsten G{\"u}ttler and Nick Hoekzema and Hviid, {Stubbe F.} and Wing-Huen Ip and Laurent Jorda and J{\"o}rg Knollenberg and Gabor Kovacs and Kramm, {J. Rainer} and Ekkehard K{\"u}hrt and Michael K{\"u}ppers and {La Forgia}, Fiorangela and Lara, {Luisa M.} and Monica Lazzarin and C{\'e}dric Leyrat and {Lopez Moreno}, {Jos{\`e} J.} and Sara Magrin and Simone Marchi and Francesco Marzari and Matteo Massironi and Harald Michalik and Richard Moissl and Stefano Mottola and Giampiero Naletto and Nilda Oklay and Maurizio Pajola and Marco Pertile and Frank Preusker and Lola Sabau and Frank Scholten and Colin Snodgrass and Nicholas Thomas and Cecilia Tubiana and Jean-Baptiste Vincent and Klaus-Peter Wenzel and Mirco Zaccariotto and Martin P{\"a}tzold",

note = "5 pp.",

year = "2015",

month = jan,

day = "23",

doi = "10.1126/science.aaa1044",

language = "English",

volume = "347",

pages = "1--5",

journal = "Science",

issn = "1095-9203",

publisher = "AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE",

number = "6220",

}

Sierks, H, Barbieri, C, Lamy, PL, Rodrigo, R, Koschny, D, Rickman, H, Keller, HU, Agarwal, J, A'Hearn, MF, Angrilli, F, Auger, A-T, Barucci, MA, Bertaux, J-L, Bertini, I, Besse, S, Bodewits, D, Capanna, C, Cremonese, G, Da Deppo, V, Davidsson, B, Debei, S, De Cecco, M, Ferri, F, Fornasier, S, Fulle, M, Gaskell, R, Giacomini, L, Groussin, O, Gutierrez-Marques, P, Gutiérrez, PJ, Güttler, C, Hoekzema, N, Hviid, SF, Ip, W-H, Jorda, L, Knollenberg, J, Kovacs, G, Kramm, JR, Kührt, E, Küppers, M, La Forgia, F, Lara, LM, Lazzarin, M, Leyrat, C, Lopez Moreno, JJ, Magrin, S, Marchi, S, Marzari, F, Massironi, M, Michalik, H, Moissl, R, Mottola, S, Naletto, G, Oklay, N, Pajola, M, Pertile, M, Preusker, F, Sabau, L, Scholten, F, Snodgrass, C, Thomas, N, Tubiana, C, Vincent, J-B, Wenzel, K-P, Zaccariotto, M & Pätzold, M 2015, 'On the nucleus structure and activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko', Science, vol. 347, no. 6220, aaa1044, pp. 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa1044

TY - JOUR

T1 - On the nucleus structure and activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

AU - Sierks, Holger

AU - Barbieri, Cesare

AU - Lamy, Philippe L.

AU - Rodrigo, Rafael

AU - Koschny, Detlef

AU - Rickman, Hans

AU - Keller, Horst Uwe

AU - Agarwal, Jessica

AU - A'Hearn, Michael F.

AU - Angrilli, Francesco

AU - Auger, Anne-Therese

AU - Barucci, M. Antonella

AU - Bertaux, Jean-Loup

AU - Bertini, Ivano

AU - Besse, Sebastien

AU - Bodewits, Dennis

AU - Capanna, Claire

AU - Cremonese, Gabriele

AU - Da Deppo, Vania

AU - Davidsson, Björn

AU - Debei, Stefano

AU - De Cecco, Mariolino

AU - Ferri, Francesca

AU - Fornasier, Sonia

AU - Fulle, Marco

AU - Gaskell, Robert

AU - Giacomini, Lorenza

AU - Groussin, Olivier

AU - Gutierrez-Marques, Pablo

AU - Gutiérrez, Pedro J.

AU - Güttler, Carsten

AU - Hoekzema, Nick

AU - Hviid, Stubbe F.

AU - Ip, Wing-Huen

AU - Jorda, Laurent

AU - Knollenberg, Jörg

AU - Kovacs, Gabor

AU - Kramm, J. Rainer

AU - Kührt, Ekkehard

AU - Küppers, Michael

AU - La Forgia, Fiorangela

AU - Lara, Luisa M.

AU - Lazzarin, Monica

AU - Leyrat, Cédric

AU - Lopez Moreno, Josè J.

AU - Magrin, Sara

AU - Marchi, Simone

AU - Marzari, Francesco

AU - Massironi, Matteo

AU - Michalik, Harald

AU - Moissl, Richard

AU - Mottola, Stefano

AU - Naletto, Giampiero

AU - Oklay, Nilda

AU - Pajola, Maurizio

AU - Pertile, Marco

AU - Preusker, Frank

AU - Sabau, Lola

AU - Scholten, Frank

AU - Snodgrass, Colin

AU - Thomas, Nicholas

AU - Tubiana, Cecilia

AU - Vincent, Jean-Baptiste

AU - Wenzel, Klaus-Peter

AU - Zaccariotto, Mirco

AU - Pätzold, Martin

N1 - 5 pp.

PY - 2015/1/23

Y1 - 2015/1/23

N2 - Images from the OSIRIS scientific imaging system onboard Rosetta show that the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko consists of two lobes connected by a short neck. The nucleus has a bulk density less than half that of water. Activity at a distance from the Sun of >3 astronomical units is predominantly from the neck, where jets have been seen consistently. The nucleus rotates about the principal axis of momentum. The surface morphology suggests that the removal of larger volumes of material, possibly via explosive release of subsurface pressure or via creation of overhangs by sublimation, may be a major mass loss process. The shape raises the question of whether the two lobes represent a contact binary formed 4.5 billion years ago, or a single body where a gap has evolved via mass loss.

AB - Images from the OSIRIS scientific imaging system onboard Rosetta show that the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko consists of two lobes connected by a short neck. The nucleus has a bulk density less than half that of water. Activity at a distance from the Sun of >3 astronomical units is predominantly from the neck, where jets have been seen consistently. The nucleus rotates about the principal axis of momentum. The surface morphology suggests that the removal of larger volumes of material, possibly via explosive release of subsurface pressure or via creation of overhangs by sublimation, may be a major mass loss process. The shape raises the question of whether the two lobes represent a contact binary formed 4.5 billion years ago, or a single body where a gap has evolved via mass loss.

U2 - 10.1126/science.aaa1044

DO - 10.1126/science.aaa1044

M3 - Article

SN - 1095-9203

VL - 347

SP - 1

EP - 5

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6220

M1 - aaa1044

ER -

On the nucleus structure and activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Abstract

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Profiles

Colin Snodgrass

Cite this