We present a summary of the campaign of remote observations that supported the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission. Telescopes across the globe (and in space) followed comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from before Rosetta's arrival until nearly the end of the mission in September 2016. These provided essential data for mission planning, large-scale context information for the coma and tails beyond the spacecraft and a way to directly compare 67P with other comets. The observations revealed 67P to be a relatively 'well-behaved' comet, typical of Jupiter family comets and with activity patterns that repeat from orbit to orbit. Comparison between this large collection of telescopic observations and the results from Rosetta will allow us to better understand comet coma chemistry and structure. This work is just beginning as the mission ends-in this paper, we present a summary of the ground-based observations and early results, and point to many questions that will be addressed in future studies.This article is part of the themed issue 'Cometary science after Rosetta'.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5454223 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2016.0249 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Geometric preprocessing for measurements of comet 67P acquired by Rosetta's Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer, Mapping channel (VIRTIS-M).
Rev Sci Instrum
December 2024
Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P) was the primary target of ESA's Rosetta mission. Hyperspectral images acquired by the Mapping channel of the Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer aboard Rosetta can be used to derive physical and compositional surface properties by detailed spectrophotometric analyses. This calls for a precise spatial co-registration between measurements and geometry information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA nearly terrestrial D/H for comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Sci Adv
November 2024
Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303, USA.
Cometary comae are a mixture of gas and ice-covered dust. Processing on the surface and in the coma change the composition of ice on dust grains relative to that of the nucleus. As the ice on dust grains sublimates, the local coma composition changes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCorrection of instrument temperature dependence of detector responsivity for measurements of comet 67P acquired by Rosetta's Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer, Mapping channel (VIRTIS-M).
Rev Sci Instrum
October 2024
Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
Article Synopsis
- - The VIRTIS-M instrument on the Rosetta spacecraft collected hyperspectral images of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with the VIS channel detector's responsivity influenced by its temperature (TVIS).
- - Analyzed data showed that a 1 K increase in TVIS resulted in varying percentage increases in measured spectral values, which affects the accuracy of the spectra recorded.
- - A new parameterization was developed to correct for this temperature-related bias, ensuring consistency in the spectral data across the mission and enhancing future analyses.
Complex organosulfur molecules on comet 67P: Evidence from the ROSINA measurements and insights from laboratory simulations.
Sci Adv
June 2023
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
Article Synopsis
- The ROSINA instrument on the Rosetta mission enhanced our knowledge of the material composition in comets, particularly comet 67P.
- Researchers analyzed dust from a 2016 event, discovering large organosulfur compounds and higher levels of sulfur-rich species in the comet's coma.
- These findings suggest that complex sulfur-bearing organics are present on the comet's surface and imply that similar materials may be identified in other celestial bodies using future telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope.
A Comparison of Presolar Isotopic Signatures in Laboratory-Studied Primitive Solar System Materials and Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: New Insights from Light Elements, Halogens, and Noble Gases.
Space Sci Rev
May 2023
Center for Space and Habitability, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
Comets are considered the most primitive planetary bodies in our Solar System. ESA's Rosetta mission to Jupiter family comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/CG) has provided a wealth of isotope data which expanded the existing data sets on isotopic compositions of comets considerably. In a previous paper (Hoppe et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!