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C/2017 K2 (Pan-STARRS) is an Oort cloud comet discovered in May 2017. Ground observations have revealed that this long-period comet was active at heliocentric distance of 35 au. At such a distance, activity cannot be driven by the sublimation or the exothermic crystallization of water ice. We assume that the activity of comet C/2017 K2 may be driven by the sublimation of super-volatile ices such as CO and CO2. The nature of parent molecules driving the unprecedented activity of comet C/2017 K2 can be investigated by analyzing its spectrum. In particular, the analysis of atomic oxygen emission lines and the calculation of the green (5577.339 Å) to red (6300.304 and 6363.776 Å) line intensity ratio (hereafter G/R) can reveal the nature of molecules driving cometary activity. We report on the detection of atomic oxygen lines in the spectra of comet C/2017 K2 (Pan-STARRS) from high-resolution spectra obtained at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) on 24 June and 2 July 2022 using the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher North (HARPS-N) echelle spectrograph. We found G/R ratios equal to 0.29±0.02 (24 July 2022) and 0.27±0.01 (2 July 2022), which are consistent with a cometary activity driven by CO2, even if located at 2.8 au from the Sun. To better define the nature of the driving molecule, we measured the width of the three oxygen lines and found that the green line in the spectrum of 24 July 2022 is wider than either of the two red lines. This allows us to argue that CO2 is dissociated by highly energetic solar photons that produce O(1S) with a large excess velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) is considered to be the brightest comet observed in the northern hemisphere since the passage of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) in 1997. Since the study of comets offers a unique opportunity to investigate the early stages of the formation and evolution of our Sun and the Solar System, we obtained high-resolution optical spectra (R = λ/Δλ = 11 5000) of comet NEOWISE. The unique passage and its brightness yielded spectra with a large number of emission lines, providing information on the coma composition and the physical and chemical processes occurring in the nucleus. The spectra have been used to generate a catalog of emission lines to be used for future studies of comets since there are no catalogs in the literature with such a high spectral resolution. Methods. Two high-resolution spectra of comet NEOWISE were obtained, on 26 July 2020 (geocentric distance of 0.7 AU) and 5 August 2020 (geocentric distance of 0.89 AU), with the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher for the Northern hemisphere (HARPS-N) echelle spectrograph installed on the 360 cm Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. The spectra cover the range between 383 and 693 nm, and have been extracted using the HARPS-N Data Reduction Pipeline. To analyze the spectra and compile the high-resolution catalog, we collected several laboratory molecular line lists that cover the same wavelength range as that of our spectra. To validate the final identification, we compared our catalog with other atlases that resulted from the spectral analysis of other comets. Results. We generate a high-spectral-resolution catalog of emission lines observed in comet NEOWISE, providing the identification for 4488 lines. We found cometary lines due to CN, CH, C2, C3, and NH2 and atomic lines due to NaI and [OI]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Meteoroids impacting terrestrial planets at high speed may have different effects. On bodies without atmospheres, such as the Moon and Mercury, they form impact craters and contribute to the gardening process through which the surface material is constantly mixed. The interaction of high-speed meteoroids with the atmosphere of Venus, the Earth, and Mars, may lead to the deposition in the ionosphere of species such as neutral Mg or Fe and their ionized atoms, caused by ablation processes during the entry. Aims. In this work we estimate and compare the flux and impact speeds onto the planets of the inner solar system by numerically integrating the orbital evolution of putative dust particles of asteroidal and cometary origin. Methods. The trajectories of dust particles of different sizes are computed with a numerical code that accounts for the gravitational forces due to all planets, the Poynting-Robertson drag and the solar wind drag. The flux of dust grains on each planet is estimated by calibrating the outcome of our model with the flux on the Earth reported previously. Results.We obtain new estimates of the flux and impact velocities for both asteroidal and cometary dust particles on Venus and Mars. For Venus we find that cometary grains enter the planet atmosphere at higher speeds, possibly contributing to the upper layers, while asteroidal grains would be relevant for the lower layers, possibly leading to a compositional gradient. This effect is also present for Mars, but it is less marked. We also find that analytical predictions, not taking radiative forces into account, of both flux and average impact speed are reliable for Mars but fail for Venus because of the complex dynamical evolution of grains in the inner solar system. Conclusions. Our results on the velocity distributions and fluxes of micrometeoroids on the terrestrial planets can be used to put stringent contraints on models that estimate either the superficial material mixing that is due to meteoroid impacts or the formation of ionospheric layers for planets with an atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The ESA Rosetta mission explored comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014..2016, following its target before and after the perihelion passage on 13 August 2015. The NAC camera of the OSIRIS imaging system allowed to map the nucleus surface acquiring images with different filters in the visible wavelength range. Aims. Here we study the spectrophotometric behaviour of the nucleus by a multivariate statistical analysis, aiming to distinguish homogeneous groups and to constrain the bulk composition. Methods. We applied the G-mode clustering algorithm to 16 OSIRIS data cubes acquired on 5-6 August 2014 (mostly covering the northern hemisphere) and 2 May 2015 (mostly covering the southern hemisphere), selected to have complete coverage of the comet's surface with similar observing conditions. Results. We found four similar homogeneous groups for each of the analysed cubes. The first group corresponds to the average spectrophotometric behaviour of the nucleus. The second (spectrally redder) and the third (spectrally bluer) groups are found in regions that were already found to deviate from the average terrain of the comet by previous studies. A fourth group (characterised by enhancements of the flux at 700-750 nm and 989 nm, possibly due to H2O+ and/or NH2 emissions) seems connected with the cometary activity rather than with the bulk composition. Conclusions. While our aim in this work was to study the spectrophotometric behaviour of the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as a whole, we found that a follow-up application of the G-mode to smaller regions of the surface could be useful in particular to identify and study the temporal evolution of ice patches, as well as to constrain the composition and physical processes behind the emission of dust jets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Dust jets (i.e., fuzzy collimated streams of cometary material arising from the nucleus) have been observed in situ on all comets since the Giotto mission flew by comet 1P/Halley in 1986, and yet their formation mechanism remains unknown. Several solutions have been proposed involving either specific properties of the active areas or the local topography to create and focus the gas and dust flows. While the nucleus morphology seems to be responsible for the larger features, high resolution imagery has shown that broad streams are composed of many smaller jets (a few meters wide) that connect directly to the nucleus surface. Aims. We monitored these jets at high resolution and over several months to understand what the physical processes are that drive their formation and how this affects the surface. Methods. Using many images of the same areas with different viewing angles, we performed a 3-dimensional reconstruction of collimated jets and linked them precisely to their sources on the nucleus. Results. We show here observational evidence that the northern hemisphere jets of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko arise from areas with sharp topographic changes and describe the physical processes involved. We propose a model in which active cliffs are the main source of jet-like features and therefore of the regions eroding the fastest on comets. We suggest that this is a common mechanism taking place on all comets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. On 12 November 2014, the European mission Rosetta delivered the Philae lander on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko (67P). After the first touchdown, the lander bounced three times before finally landing at a site named Abydos. Aims. We provide a morphologically detailed analysis of the Abydos landing site to support Philae's measurements and to give context for the interpretation of the images coming from the Comet Infrared and Visible Analyser (CIVA) camera system onboard the lander. Methods. We used images acquired by the OSIRIS Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) on 6 December 2014 to perform the analysis of the Abydos landing site, which provided the geomorphological map, the gravitational slope map, the size-frequency distribution of the boulders. We also computed the albedo and spectral reddening maps. Results. The morphological analysis of the region could suggest that Philae is located on a primordial terrain. The Abydos site is surrounded by two layered and fractured outcrops and presents a 0.02 km2 talus deposit rich in boulders. The boulder size frequency distribution gives a cumulative power-law index of -4:0 + 0:3=-0:4, which is correlated with gravitational events triggered by sublimation and/or thermal fracturing causing regressive erosion. The average value of the albedo is 5.8% at λ1 = 480:7 nm and 7.4% at λ2 = 649:2 nm, which is similar to the global albedos derived by OSIRIS and CIVA, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. Approach observations with the Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) experiment onboard Rosetta are used to determine the rotation period, the direction of the spin axis, and the state of rotation of comet 67P's nucleus. Methods. Photometric time series of 67P have been acquired by OSIRIS since the post wake-up commissioning of the payload in March 2014. Fourier analysis and convex shape inversion methods have been applied to the Rosetta data as well to the available ground-based observations. Results. Evidence is found that the rotation rate of 67P has significantly changed near the time of its 2009 perihelion passage, probably due to sublimation-induced torque.We find that the sidereal rotation periods P1 = 12:76129 ± 0:00005 h and P2 = 12:4043 ± 0:0007 h for the apparitions before and after the 2009 perihelion, respectively, provide the best fit to the observations. No signs of multiple periodicity are found in the light curves down to the noise level, which implies that the comet is presently in a simple rotation state around its axis of largest moment of inertia. We derive a prograde rotation model with spin vector J2000 ecliptic coordinates λ = 65° ± 15°, β= +59° ± 15°, corresponding to equatorial coordinates RA = 22°, Dec = +76°. However, we find that the mirror solution, also prograde, at λ = 275° ± 15°, β= +50° ± 15° (or RA = 274°, Dec = +27°), is also possible at the same confidence level, due to the intrinsic ambiguity of the photometric problem for observations performed close to the ecliptic plane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The Moon has a tenuous exosphere consisting of atoms that are ejected from the surface by energetic processes, including hypervelocity micrometeoritic impacts, photon-stimulated desorption by UV radiation, and ion sputtering. Aims. We calculate the vapor and neutral Na production rates on the Moon caused by impacts of meteoroids in the radius range of 5-100 μm. We considered a previously published dynamical model to compute the flux of meteoroids at the heliocentric distance of the Moon. Methods. The orbital evolution of dust particles of different sizes is computed with an N-body numerical code. It includes the effects of Poynting-Robertson drag, solar wind drag, and planetary perturbations. The vapor production rate and the number of neutral atoms released in the exosphere of the Moon are computed with a well-established formulation. Results. The result shows that the neutral Na production rate computed following our model is higher than previous estimates. This difference can be due to the dynamical evolution model that we used to compute the flux and also to the mean velocity, which is 15.3 kms-1 instead of 12.75 km s-1 as reported in literature. Conclusions. Until now, the micrometeoritic impacts have been considered a negligible source for the release of neutral sodium atoms into the exosphere compared to other mechanisms, but according to our calculations, the contribution may be 8% of the photostimulated desorption at the subsolar point, becoming similar in the dawn and dusk regions and dominant on the night side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The Jupiter-family comet 81P/Wild 2, target of the NASA Stardust mission, is very important in the context of the studies of pristine objects in the solar system. First, it was only recently deflected into the present orbit, having spent at least 300 yr at higher heliocentric distance prior to the orbital change in 1974. It is therefore likely that the comet experienced a recent activation with consequent low alteration of its original material. Second, it is the only comet whose coma material was brought back to Earth for laboratory analysis. We observed the object between 2010 February 9 and September 9 for a total of 11 nights during the 2010 perihelion passage. Aims. The goals of the campaign were the characterization of the comet's dust activity and the comparison with previous apparitions to derive hints on the secular behavior of the object. Methods. Broadband R- and I-images were acquired using three instruments: ALFOSC, CAMELOT, and TCP. The first one is mounted at the Nordic Optical Telescope on La Palma, while the second and the third are mounted at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias 0.82-m telescope on Tenerife.We analyzed the presence and variability of dust structures in the coma with image-enhancing techniques, the radial profile of the dust brightness, and we measured the dust production rate and the dust reddening. Results. We found evidence of a long-lasting sunward fan and anti-solar tail activity throughout all our observations up to a heliocentric distance of 2.42 AU. A f ρmeasurements suggest a pre-perihelion peak of the activity, caused by a seasonal effect, plus two post-perihelion outbursts. Both spatial and A f ρradial profiles indicate a steady-state coma at nucleocentric distances greater than ∼1000-2000 km. The color analysis reveals a moderately reddened dust with a 6-9%/1000 Å reddening, consistent with the current picture of cometary dust. The second outburst emitted dust with lower reddening. Conclusions. The comparison with previous perihelion passages points toward a recurrent main activity always driven by the same areas on the nucleus, producing dust with similar characteristics and in similar coma structures in different years. Our A f ρmeasurement at the longest heliocentric distance suggests the comet was less dust-productive in 2010, pointing toward a possible secular aging of the object and its activity. The change of dust colors during the unusual second outburst suggests that an internal part of the nucleus has different physical properties compared with those that produce the recurrent main activity, pointing toward a heterogeneous comet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]