rosetta media briefing 16 october 2014 - dr. gerhard schwehm, former rosetta mission manager &...
DESCRIPTION
The cometary science challengeTRANSCRIPT
Gerhard Schwehm & Matt Taylor
and the Rosetta SWT
Rosetta: Science at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Lowry et al., 2012
Lamy et al., 2007
Vincent et al 2013
C67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
How we imagined the comet before the arrival
Lowry et al., 2012
Lamy et al., 2007
Vincent et al 2013
C67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko – the Fiction
C67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko – the Reality
Mass ~ 1013 kg
Volume ~ 25 km3
Density ~ 0.4g/cm3
Rotation ~ 12.4 hour
Mass ~ 1013 kg
Volume ~ 25 km3
Density ~ 0.4g/cm3
Rotation ~ 12.4 hour
Comet nucleus
Mass ~ 1013 kg
Volume ~ 25 km3
Density ~ 0.4g/cm3
Rotation ~ 12.4 hour
Comet nucleus
More recently - Temperature variations across regions and with local time. average ~ -70o C , peaking -40o C
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
ESA/Rosetta/Navcam
Comet nucleus
‘Cheops’
ESA/Rosetta/Navcam
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
Comet nucleus
ESO/ESA Snodgrass et al., 2014
19,000 km
Comet activity and coma
19,000 km
ESO/ESA Snodgrass et al., 2014
Comet activity and coma
Comet activity and coma - gas
ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA
“selfie” taken Sept. 8th from Philae,
still attached to the Orbiter, with
our target comet at 50 km
ESA/ROSETTA/PHILAE/CIVA
Sss
Selfie from 16 km Composite Image
ESA/ROSETTA/PHILAE/CIVA
COSIMA GIADA
Comet activity and coma - dust
1 cm
Total number densities measured by
ROSINA-COPS
The density varies with the rotation period
and the latitude (summer/winter) of the
comet due to illumination from the Sun
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
CO2
CO
row A_22-08-2014
row A_01-08-2014
ion
num
be
r
m/z
H2O
Distance of Rosetta from
67P/CG
01-08-2014 10:15 =>
885km
22-08-2014 13:50 => 61
km
Distance from Rosetta to
the Sun
01-08-2014 => 3.6 A.U.
22-08-2014 => 3.5 A.U.
DFMS – first results on chemical composition
Nu
mb
er
of
ion
s i
n 2
0s
Major species
High resolution neutral mass spectrum
of mass 28 Da
Conclusions: the
perfume of C-G
There are a lot of sulfur species in the coma
The comet smells of rotten eggs
There is ammonia in the coma
The comet smells like horse droppings
There are a lot of acids, alcohols, hydrocarbons
The perfume of C-G is very special, but
interesting
Comet activity and coma - plasma