Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Apr 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012apj...749...29c&link_type=abstract
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 749, Issue 1, article id. 29 (2012).
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Acceleration Of Particles, Comets: General, Comets: Individual: 67P&Solchuryumov-Gerasimenko
Scientific paper
Comets often display narrow dust jets but more diffuse gas comae when their eccentric orbits bring them into the inner solar system and sunlight sublimates the ice on the nucleus. Comets are also understood to have one or more active areas covering only a fraction of the total surface active with sublimating volatile ices. Calculations of the gas and dust distribution from a small active area on a comet's nucleus show that as the gas moves out radially into the vacuum of space it expands tangentially, filling much of the hemisphere centered on the active region. The dust dragged by the gas remains more concentrated over the active area. This explains some puzzling appearances of comets having collimated dust jets but more diffuse gaseous atmospheres. Our test case is 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the Rosetta mission target comet, whose activity is dominated by a single area covering only 4% of its surface.
Combi Michael R.
Fougere N.
Gombosi Tamas I.
Rubin Mathieu
Tenishev Valeriy M.
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