Other
Scientific paper
Sep 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.5915h&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #59.15; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.595
Other
Scientific paper
The NEAR/Shoemaker spacecraft observed smooth areas (nicknamed "ponds") on the floors of some small craters on the asteroid Eros. They appear concentrated primarily at low latitudes and on the long ends of the asteroid where surface gravity is relatively low. Furthermore, photometry of the surface suggests that the ponds may be comprised of particles much less than 50 microns in diameter (Robinson, M.S., et al., 2001, Nature, 413, 396-400). Micron-sized particles in the regolith of Eros become charged through photo-emission and solar wind currents. These particles may be lifted off of the surface by near-surface electric fields in the dayside photoelectron layer or nightside plasma sheath. We present numerical simulations of the redistribution of small particles on Eros due to electrostatic transport. We have extended an earlier model (Colwell, J.E., et al., 2005, Icarus, 175, 159-169) to three dimensions to allow accurate modeling of the illumination geometry of topographic forms on Eros at various latitudes throughout an Eros orbit. We use both numerical integrations of particle trajectories as well as a Markov Chain description of the dust transport. We find that small charged particles are preferentially transported into topographic lows such as craters, and that this transport is more efficient at low planetodetic latitudes on Eros. While this is consistent with the pond distribution on Eros, other factors not included in our model, such as the global shape of the asteroid, impact shaking, and landslides, may play an important role in the formation of ponds. Further experiments on the conditions that lead to separation of charged grains from the surface and their ejection velocities, as well as new global-scale simulations, will help evaluate the role of charged dust transport on Eros and other airless objects in the solar system. This work was supported by NASA grant NNG04GA58G.
Colwell Joshua E.
Haugsjaa Anna L.
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