1. Surface evolution of the Anhur region on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from high-resolution OSIRIS images
- Author
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R. Rodrigo, M. De Cecco, Stefano Debei, P. J. Gutierrez, Ivano Bertini, J. M. Sunshine, P. L. Lamy, Detlef Koschny, S. Fornasier, Xian Shi, Laurent Jorda, G. Cremonese, J. B. Vincent, Marco Fulle, Imre Tóth, Maurizio Pajola, M. L. Lara, J. L. Bertaux, Sabrina Ferrari, C. Güttler, V. Da Deppo, Dennis Bodewits, M. A. Barucci, W-H. Ip, Jakob Deller, Holger Sierks, Clement Feller, Stefano Mottola, Monica Lazzarin, Alice Lucchetti, Cecilia Tubiana, J. J. Lopez Moreno, B. J. R. Davidsson, Horst Uwe Keller, Giampiero Naletto, Francesco Marzari, Pedro Hasselmann, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University (PSL)-PSL Research University (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Astronomy [College Park], University of Maryland [College Park], University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System, DLR Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt [Berlin] (DLR), Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung (MPS), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Centro di Ateneo di Studi e Attività Spaziali 'Giuseppe Colombo' (CISAS), Universita degli Studi di Padova, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia 'Galileo Galilei', CNR Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie [Padova] (IFN), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche [Roma] (CNR), IMPEC - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centro de Astrobiologia [Madrid] (CAB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Spain] (CSIC)-Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), International Space Science Institute [Bern] (ISSI), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), European Space Agency (ESA), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH), Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI), Russian Academy of Sciences [Moscow] (RAS), Department of Physics [Auburn], Auburn University (AU), INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (OAPD), Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), CNR Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies (IFN), Department of Mechanical Engineering [Padova], Department of Industrial Engineering [Padova], Universita degli Studi di Padova-Universita degli Studi di Padova, University of Trento [Trento], Dipartimento di Geoscienze [Padova], INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste (OAT), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Spain] (CSIC), Institute of Astronomy [Taiwan] (IANCU), National Central University [Taiwan] (NCU), Space Science Institute [Macau] (SSI), Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES), Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik [Braunschweig] (IGEP), Technische Universität Braunschweig [Braunschweig], European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Konkoly Observatory, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences [Budapest], Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA)-Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), PLANETO - LATMOS, Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Madrid] (CSIC), California Institute of Technology (CALTECH)-NASA, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Madrid] (CSIC), Technische Universität Braunschweig = Technical University of Braunschweig [Braunschweig], German Centre for Air and Space Travel, Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (France), Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España), European Space Agency, Swedish National Space Agency, Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung = Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Università degli Studi di Padova = University of Padua (Unipd), National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency (ESA), Università degli Studi di Padova = University of Padua (Unipd)-Università degli Studi di Padova = University of Padua (Unipd), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-17-CE31-0004,CLASSY,Composition des surfaces du Système Solaire de bas albédo(2017), ITA, USA, GBR, FRA, and DEU
- Subjects
67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko ,Asteroiden und Kometen ,photometry ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Comet ,observational [methods] ,Data analysis ,Narrow angle ,High resolution ,Individual ,rosetta mission ,Equinox ,Photometric ,imaging spectroscopy ,Fault scarp ,01 natural sciences ,photometric [techniques] ,techniques: photometric ,individual: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko [Comets] ,0103 physical sciences ,data analysis [methods] ,Methods ,comets ,Observational ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,Southern Hemisphere ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,[PHYS]Physics [physics] ,[SDU.ASTR]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] ,biology ,comets: individual: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko ,Astronomy ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,imaging spectroscopy [techniques] ,biology.organism_classification ,methods: data analysis ,Techniques ,techniques: imaging spectroscopy ,13. Climate action ,Space and Planetary Science ,Radiance ,Comets ,Imaging spectroscopy ,methods: observational ,Osiris ,[PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] ,Geology - Abstract
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited., The southern hemisphere of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) became observable by the Rosetta mission in March 2015, a few months before cometary southern vernal equinox. The Anhur region in the southern part of the comet's larger lobe was found to be highly eroded, enriched in volatiles, and highly active. Aims. We analyze high-resolution images of the Anhur region pre- and post-perihelion acquired by the OSIRIS imaging system on board the Rosetta mission. The Narrow Angle Camera is particularly useful for studying the evolution in Anhur in terms of morphological changes and color variations. Methods. Radiance factor images processed by the OSIRIS pipeline were coregistered, reprojected onto the 3D shape model of the comet, and corrected for the illumination conditions. Results. We find a number of morphological changes in the Anhur region that are related to formation of new scarps; removal of dust coatings; localized resurfacing in some areas, including boulders displacements; and vanishing structures, which implies localized mass loss that we estimate to be higher than 50 million kg. The strongest changes took place in and nearby the Anhur canyon-like structure, where significant dust cover was removed, an entire structure vanished, and many boulders were rearranged. All such changes are potentially associated with one of the most intense outbursts registered by Rosetta during its observations, which occurred one day before perihelion passage. Moreover, in the niche at the foot of a new observed scarp, we also see evidence of water ice exposure that persisted for at least six months. The abundance of water ice, evaluated from a linear mixing model, is relatively high (>20%). Our results confirm that the Anhur region is volatile-rich and probably is the area on 67P with the most pristine exposures near perihelion.© S. Fornasier et al. 2019, OSIRIS was built by a consortium led by the Max-Planck-Institut fur Sonnensystemforschung, Goettingen, Germany, in collaboration with CISAS, University of Padova, Italy, the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, France, the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, CSIC, Granada, Spain, the Scientific Support Office of the European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, the Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial, Madrid, Spain, the Universidad Politechnica de Madrid, Spain, the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Uppsala University, Sweden, and the Institut fur Datentechnik und Kommunikationsnetze der Technischen Universitat Braunschweig, Germany. The support of the national funding agencies of Germany (DLR), France (CNES), Italy (ASI), Spain (MEC), Sweden (SNSB), and the ESA Technical Directorate is gratefully acknowledged. We thank the Rosetta Science Ground Segment at ESAC, the Rosetta Mission Operations Centre at ESOC and the Rosetta Project at ESTEC for their outstanding work enabling the science return of the Rosetta Mission. SF acknowledges the financial support from the France Agence Nationale de la Recherche (programme Classy, ANR-17-CE31-0004). The authors thank Dr. E. Howell for her comments and suggestions which helped us to improve this article.
- Published
- 2019
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