Fractures on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko observed by Rosetta/OSIRIS

被引:66
作者
El-Maarry, M. R. [1 ]
Thomas, N. [1 ]
Gracia-Berna, A. [1 ]
Marschall, R. [1 ]
Auger, A. -T. [2 ]
Groussin, O. [2 ]
Mottola, S. [3 ]
Pajola, M. [4 ]
Massironi, M. [4 ,5 ]
Marchi, S. [6 ]
Hoefner, S. [7 ]
Preusker, F. [3 ]
Scholten, F. [3 ]
Jorda, L. [2 ]
Kuehrt, E. [3 ]
Keller, H. U. [3 ,8 ]
Sierks, H. [7 ]
A'Hearn, M. F. [9 ]
Barbieri, C. [10 ]
Barucci, M. A. [11 ]
Bertaux, J. -L. [12 ]
Bertini, I. [4 ]
Cremonese, G. [13 ]
Da Deppo, V. [14 ]
Davidsson, B. [15 ]
Debei, S. [16 ]
De Cecco, M. [17 ]
Deller, J. [7 ]
Guettler, C. [7 ]
Fornasier, S. [11 ]
Fulle, M. [18 ]
Gutierrez, P. J. [19 ]
Hofmann, M. [7 ]
Hviid, S. F. [3 ]
Ip, W. -H. [20 ]
Knollenberg, J. [3 ]
Koschny, D. [21 ]
Kovacs, G. [7 ]
Kramm, J. -R. [7 ]
Kueppers, M. [22 ]
Lamy, P. L. [2 ]
Lara, L. M. [19 ]
Lazzarin, M. [10 ]
Lopez Moreno, J. J. [19 ]
Marzari, F. [10 ]
Michalik, H. [23 ]
Naletto, G. [4 ,14 ,24 ]
Oklay, N. [7 ]
Pommerol, A. [1 ]
Rickman, H. [15 ,25 ]
机构
[1] Univ Bern, Inst Phys, Bern, Switzerland
[2] Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Lab Astrophys Marseille, Marseille, France
[3] Deutsch Zentrum Luft & Raumfahrt, Inst Planetenforsch, Berlin, Germany
[4] Univ Padua, Ctr Ateneo Studi & Attivita Spaziali, Padua, Italy
[5] Univ Padua, Dept Geosci, Padua, Italy
[6] Southwest Res Inst, Virtual Inst, Solar Syst Explorat Res, Boulder, CO USA
[7] Max Planck Inst Sonnensyst Forsch, Gottingen, Germany
[8] Tech Univ Carolo Wilhelmina Braunschweig, Inst Geophys & Extraterr Phys, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany
[9] Univ Maryland, Dept Astron, College Pk, MD 20742 USA
[10] Univ Padua, Dept Phys & Astron, Padua, Italy
[11] Univ Paris 07, Univ Paris 06, Observ Paris, CNRS,LESIA, Meudon, France
[12] CNRS UVSQ IPSL, LATMOS, Guyancourt, France
[13] INAF Osservatorio Astronomico, Padua, Italy
[14] CNR IFN UOS Padova LUXOR, Padua, Italy
[15] Uppsala Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, Uppsala, Sweden
[16] Univ Padua, Dept Ind Engn, Padua, Italy
[17] Univ Trento, Dept Ind Engn, Trento, Italy
[18] INAF Osservatorio Astron Trieste, Trieste, Italy
[19] Inst Astrofis Andalucia CSIC, Granada, Spain
[20] Natl Cent Univ, Grad Inst Astron, Chungli 32054, Taiwan
[21] European Space Agcy, Sci Support Off, NL-2200 AG Noordwijk, Netherlands
[22] European Space Astron Ctr ESA, Operat Dept, Villanueva De La Canada, Spain
[23] TU Braunschweig, Inst Datentech & Kommunikat Netze, Braunschweig, Germany
[24] Univ Padua, Dept Informat Engn, Padua, Italy
[25] PAS Space Res Ctr, Warsaw, Poland
[26] Int Space Sci Inst, Bern, Switzerland
[27] CSIC INTA, Ctr Astrobiol, Torrejon De Ardoz, Spain
关键词
comets; fractures; Rosetta; OSIRIS; Comet; 67P; ICE; EVOLUTION; BOULDERS; SURFACE; CRACKS; MARS;
D O I
10.1002/2015GL064500
中图分类号
P [天文学、地球科学];
学科分类号
07 ;
摘要
The Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) experiment onboard the Rosetta spacecraft currently orbiting comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko has yielded unprecedented views of a comet's nucleus. We present here the first ever observations of meter-scale fractures on the surface of a comet. Some of these fractures form polygonal networks. We present an initial assessment of their morphology, topology, and regional distribution. Fractures are ubiquitous on the surface of the comet's nucleus. Furthermore, they occur in various settings and show different topologies suggesting numerous formation mechanisms, which include thermal insulation weathering, orbital-induced stresses, and possibly seasonal thermal contraction. However, we conclude that thermal insolation weathering is responsible for creating most of the observed fractures based on their morphology and setting in addition to thermal models that indicate diurnal temperature ranges exceeding 200K and thermal gradients of similar to 15K/min at perihelion are possible. Finally, we suggest that fractures could be a facilitator in surface evolution and long-term erosion.
引用
收藏
页码:5170 / 5178
页数:9
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