Other
Scientific paper
Sep 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.2302b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #23.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.520
Other
Scientific paper
Stardust collected thousands of solid particles from comet Wild 2 and returned them to Earth. Wild 2 is a Jupiter family comet that is believed to have formed in the Kuiper belt and resided there for nearly the full history of the solar system. The materials returned by Stardust provide the first laboratory samples from a known primitive solar system body. The presence of laboratory samples of a known comet and meteorites from asteroids now provide a remarkable opportunity to compare the solid particles that existed in both the central regions and outer fringes of the solar nebula.
The sample studies are still in the preliminary stage, but a number of generalizations can be made. Most of the strong solid components larger than a micron are anhydrous silicates or sulfides. The most common minerals are forsterite (Mg2SiO4), enstatite (MgSiO3) and pyrrhotite (Fe(1-x)S). A range of other minerals have also been found including refractory minerals rich in Ca, Al and Ti, characteristic phases in Calcium Aluminum Inclusions in primitive meteorites. The origin of all of these phases is a major focus of the study of the Stardust samples. Trace element contents, isotopic composition and other properties provide a very powerful means of distinguishing between suggested origins. The possible origins of the crystalline silicates include: a) grains formed in disks around other stars, b) condensates formed in outflows from other stars, c) thermal annealing of amorphous grains from the interstellar medium, d) condensates formed in the solar nebula, e) fragments of small processed nebular solids such as chondrules or calcium aluminum inclusions or f) fragments of larger bodies such as comets and asteroids. This work will provide fundamental information on mixing in the solar nebula and the relative contribution of pre-solar and nebular materials in forming comets.
Brownlee Donald E.
Stardust Team
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