Creating Synergy Between Spitzer and Rosetta: The Coma of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Details Creating Synergy Between Spitzer and Rosetta: The Coma of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko Creating Synergy Between Spitzer and Rosetta: The Coma of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Mar 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008sptz.prop50022k&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #50022

Computer Science

Scientific paper

We propose an 11.6 hr program to complete our Spitzer mid-infrared study of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by obtaining observations of the comet during cycle 5 at heliocentric distances between 1.75 and 1.35 AU as it approaches perihelion. Comet 67P is the primary target of the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission. Rosetta will provide the first synoptic study of a comet, including a survey of the nucleus heterogeneities and their relation to comet activity. However, Rosetta will not be able to directly study how nuclear inhomogeneities manifest themselves as large scale coma structures or as IR spectroscopic features, and thus Rosetta alone will not provide the view needed to compare 67P with comets solely studied by remote sensing techniques. We propose IRS spectral maps and IRAC images to assess the composition of discrete active areas by investigating rotationally-variant IR spectra and imagery at four rotational phases. The synergy between Spitzer and Rosetta will demonstrate if cometary nuclear heterogeneities can be detected using IR remote sensing techniques. With Spitzer, we seek to: 1) derive the dust production rate; 2) assess the dust composition and grain size distribution; 3) assess the CO, CO2, and water contributions to the volatile gas production rates; and 4) investigate the heterogeneous dust and volatile composition of the nucleus.

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