Matthias Grott, J. Knollenberg, M. Hamm, K. Ogawa, R. Jaumann, Katharina Alexandra Otto, M. Delbo, Patrick Michel, J. Biele, Wladimir Neumann, Martin Knapmeyer, E. Kührt, H. Senshu, T. Okada, Jorn Helbert, A. Maturilli, N. Müller, A. Hagermann, Naoya Sakatani, S. Tanaka, T. Arai, Stefano Mottola, Shogo Tachibana, Ivanka Pelivan, Line Drube, J-B Vincent, Hajime Yano, C. Pilorget, K. D. Matz, N. Schmitz, A. Koncz, Stefan E. Schröder, F. Trauthan, Markus Schlotterer, C. Krause, T-M Ho, A. Moussi-Soffys
- C-type asteroids are among the most pristine objects in the Solar System, but little is known about their interior structure and surface properties. Telescopic thermal infrared observations have so far been interpreted in terms of a regolith-covered surface with low thermal conductivity and particle sizes in the centimetre range. This includes observations of C-type asteroid (162173) Ryugu1,2,3. However, on arrival of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft at Ryugu, a regolith cover of sand- to pebble-sized particles was found to be absent4,5 (R.J. et al., manuscript in preparation). Rather, the surface is largely covered by cobbles and boulders, seemingly incompatible with the remote-sensing infrared observations. Here we report on in situ thermal infrared observations of a boulder on the C-type asteroid Ryugu. We found that the boulder’s thermal inertia was much lower than anticipated based on laboratory measurements of meteorites, and that a surface covered by such low-conductivity boulders would be consistent with remote-sensing observations.C-type asteroids are among the most pristine objects in the Solar System, but little is known about their interior structure and surface properties. Telescopic thermal infrared observations have so far been interpreted in terms of a regolith-covered surface with low thermal conductivity and particle sizes in the centimetre range. This includes observations of C-type asteroid (162173) Ryugu1,2,3. However, on arrival of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft at Ryugu, a regolith cover of sand- to pebble-sized particles was found to be absent4,5 (R.J. et al., manuscript in preparation). Rather, the surface is largely covered by cobbles and boulders, seemingly incompatible with the remote-sensing infrared observations. Here we report on in situ thermal infrared observations of a boulder on the C-type asteroid Ryugu. We found that the boulder’s thermal inertia was much lower than anticipated based on laboratory measurements of meteorites, and that a surface covered by such low-conductivity boulders would be consistent with remote-sensing observations. Our results furthermore indicate high boulder porosities as well as a low tensile strength in the few hundred kilopascal range. The predicted low tensile strength confirms the suspected observational bias6 in our meteorite collections, as such asteroidal material would be too frail to survive atmospheric entry7…
MetadatenAuthor details: | Matthias GrottORCiDGND, J. Knollenberg, M. Hamm, K. Ogawa, R. Jaumann, Katharina Alexandra Otto, M. Delbo, Patrick MichelORCiD, J. Biele, Wladimir NeumannORCiD, Martin KnapmeyerORCiD, E. Kührt, H. Senshu, T. Okada, Jorn HelbertORCiD, A. Maturilli, N. Müller, A. Hagermann, Naoya SakataniORCiD, S. Tanaka, T. Arai, Stefano MottolaORCiD, Shogo TachibanaORCiD, Ivanka PelivanORCiD, Line DrubeORCiD, J-B Vincent, Hajime YanoORCiD, C. Pilorget, K. D. Matz, N. Schmitz, A. Koncz, Stefan E. SchröderORCiD, F. Trauthan, Markus SchlottererORCiD, C. Krause, T-M Ho, A. Moussi-Soffys |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-019-0832-x |
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ISSN: | 2397-3366 |
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Title of parent work (English): | Nature astronomy |
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Publisher: | Nature Publishing 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: | 2019/07/15 |
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Publication year: | 2019 |
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Release date: | 2020/12/08 |
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Volume: | 3 |
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Issue: | 11 |
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Number of pages: | 6 |
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First page: | 971 |
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Last Page: | 976 |
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Funding institution: | STFCScience & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) [ST/S001271/1]; Excellence: Complex systems and Space, environment, risk |
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Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Mathematik |
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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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