Federico Tosi, F. Capaccioni, M. T. Capria, Stefano Mottola, A. Zinzi, M. Ciarniello, G. Filacchione, M. Hofstadter, S. Fonti, M. Formisano, David Kappel, E. Kührt, C. Leyrat, J-B Vincent, G. Arnold, M. C. De Sanctis, Andrea Longobardo, E. Palomba, A. Raponi, Batiste Rousseau, Bernard Schmitt, Maria Antonietta Barucci, Giancarlo Bellucci, Johannes Benkhoff, D. Bockelee-Morvan, P. Cerroni, J-Ph Combe, D. Despan, Stéphane Erard, F. Mancarella, T. B. McCord, Alessandra Migliorini, V Orofino, G. Piccioni
- Knowledge of the surface temperature distribution on a comet’s nucleus and its temporal evolution at different timescales is key to constraining its thermophysical properties and understanding the physical processes that take place at and below the surface. Here we report on time-resolved maps of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko retrieved on the basis of infrared data acquired by the Visible InfraRed and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) onboard the Rosetta orbiter in 2014, over a roughly two-month period in the pre-perihelion phase at heliocentric distances between 3.62 and 3.31 au from the Sun. We find that at a spatial resolution ≤15 m per pixel, the measured temperatures point out the major effect that self-heating, due to the complex shape of the nucleus, has on the diurnal temperature variation. The bilobate nucleus of comet 67P also induces daytime shadowing effects, which result in large thermal gradients. Over longer periods, VIRTIS-derived temperature values reveal seasonal changes driven by decreasing heliocentricKnowledge of the surface temperature distribution on a comet’s nucleus and its temporal evolution at different timescales is key to constraining its thermophysical properties and understanding the physical processes that take place at and below the surface. Here we report on time-resolved maps of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko retrieved on the basis of infrared data acquired by the Visible InfraRed and Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) onboard the Rosetta orbiter in 2014, over a roughly two-month period in the pre-perihelion phase at heliocentric distances between 3.62 and 3.31 au from the Sun. We find that at a spatial resolution ≤15 m per pixel, the measured temperatures point out the major effect that self-heating, due to the complex shape of the nucleus, has on the diurnal temperature variation. The bilobate nucleus of comet 67P also induces daytime shadowing effects, which result in large thermal gradients. Over longer periods, VIRTIS-derived temperature values reveal seasonal changes driven by decreasing heliocentric distance combined with an increasing abundance of ice within the uppermost centimetre-thick layer, which implies the possibility of having a largely pristine nucleus interior already in the shallow subsurface…
MetadatenAuthor details: | Federico TosiORCiD, F. Capaccioni, M. T. Capria, Stefano MottolaORCiD, A. Zinzi, M. Ciarniello, G. Filacchione, M. Hofstadter, S. Fonti, M. Formisano, David KappelORCiDGND, E. Kührt, C. Leyrat, J-B Vincent, G. Arnold, M. C. De Sanctis, Andrea LongobardoORCiD, E. Palomba, A. Raponi, Batiste RousseauORCiD, Bernard SchmittORCiD, Maria Antonietta BarucciORCiD, Giancarlo BellucciORCiD, Johannes BenkhoffORCiD, D. Bockelee-Morvan, P. Cerroni, J-Ph Combe, D. Despan, Stéphane ErardORCiD, F. Mancarella, T. B. McCord, Alessandra MiglioriniORCiD, V Orofino, G. Piccioni |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-019-0740-0 |
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ISSN: | 2397-3366 |
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Title of parent work (English): | Nature astronomy |
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Publisher: | Nature Publ. Group |
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Place of publishing: | London |
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Publication type: | Article |
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Language: | English |
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Date of first publication: | 2019/04/22 |
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Publication year: | 2019 |
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Release date: | 2021/01/15 |
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Volume: | 3 |
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Issue: | 7 |
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Number of pages: | 10 |
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First page: | 649 |
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Last Page: | 658 |
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Funding institution: | Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR-Germany); National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA-USA); ASIItalian Space Agency; Observatoire de Meudon - CNES; DLRHelmholtz AssociationGerman Aerospace Centre (DLR); DFGGerman Research Foundation (DFG) [KA 3757/2-1] |
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Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie |
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DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 52 Astronomie / 520 Astronomie und zugeordnete Wissenschaften |
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Peer review: | Referiert |
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