Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufm.p52b..02f&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #P52B-02
Physics
6008 Composition (1060), 6015 Dust, 6023 Comets: Dust Tails And Trails (6210)
Scientific paper
The Stardust spacecraft collected dust from Comet Wild-2 in two forms: material distributed along tracks in aerogel capture cells and residue in impact craters. To analyze the chemical composition of these samples the tracks produced in the aerogel were extracted as keystones containing complete tracks. Twenty-six tracks were analyzed using an X-Ray Microprobe, providing x-ray fluorescence chemical analysis for elements having K-lines at energies high enough to permit escape from the overlying aerogel (S and the heavier elements, including the moderately-volatile trace elements Cu, Zn, and Ga). Two of these tracks were then split open, exposing the interior for analysis by TOF-SIMS (which allowed detection of the lighter elements, e.g., Mg and Al). Neither Si nor O could be determined for samples captured in the aerogel, since these are the major elements in the aerogel itself. The residue in craters in the Al-foil were analyzed by SEM-EDX and TOF-SIMS. The crater residues provide information on the important light elements (Mg and Si). By combining the results from the craters and the tracks, a comprehensive chemical analysis of the Wild-2 dust was possible. Preliminary Examination of the material indicates that: 1) For particles collected in the aerogel, a significant fraction of the incident mass is frequently deposited along the entry track, suggesting the individual Wild-2 dust particles that hit the aerogel were relatively weak aggregates. 2) The chemical composition of the terminal particle in the track is frequently significantly different from the composition of the material deposited along the track, 3) Most of the elements measured show variations in their Fe-normalized abundances of more than two orders-of-magnitude in both the terminal particles and the material deposited along track walls, indicating that the Wild-2 dust is compositionally heterogeneous at the size scale of the largest particles analyzed, not simply a well-mixed aggregate of sub-micron grains, 4) The mean content of the refractory, rock-forming elements (Mg, Ca, Si, Cr, Fe, and Ni) averaged over the whole tracks and/or the crater residues in the Wild-2 grains are approximately chondritic, and, 5) There is an apparent enrichment over CI in some of the moderately-volatile minor elements (Cu, Zn, and Ga) in the Wild-2 dust.
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