Composition of comet Halley dust particles from Vega observations
J. Kissel
(1)
,
R. Z. Sagdeev
(2)
,
Jean-Loup Bertaux
(3)
,
V. N. Angarov
(4)
,
J. Audouze
(5)
,
Jacques-Emile Blamont
(3)
,
K. Büchler
(1)
,
E. N. Evlanov
(2)
,
H. Fechtig
(1)
,
M. N. Fomenkova
(2)
,
H. von Hoerner
(6)
,
N. A. Inogamov
(2)
,
V. N. Khromov
(2)
,
W. Knabe
(1)
,
F. Krueger
(7)
,
Y. Langevin
(8)
,
V. B. Leonas
(2)
,
Anny Chantal Levasseur-Regourd
(3)
,
G. G. Managadze
(2)
,
S. N. Podkolzin
(2)
,
V. D. Shapiro
(2)
,
S. R. Tabaldyev
(4)
,
B. V. Zubkov
(2)
1
MPIK -
Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik
2 IKI - Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
3 SA - Service d'aéronomie
4 National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyz Republic
5 IAP - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
6 von Hoerner und Sulger Electronic Gmbh
7 MPI Consultant
8 Laboratoire Rene Bernas
2 IKI - Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
3 SA - Service d'aéronomie
4 National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyz Republic
5 IAP - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
6 von Hoerner und Sulger Electronic Gmbh
7 MPI Consultant
8 Laboratoire Rene Bernas
Abstract
The dust impact mass analyser (PUMA) carried by the spacecraft Vega 1 and Vega 2 has provided the first direct measurements of the physical and chemical properties of cometary dust. Particles of mass <10−14 g are much more abundant than was predicted by models1. Most of the particles are rich in light elements such as H, C, N and O, lending support to models that describe cometary material as consisting of radiation-processed ices. Three examples of mass spectra for typical particle compositions are shown.