CH- and CHO-Composition in Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko revealed by the Rosetta Mission - INSU - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers Accéder directement au contenu
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2019

CH- and CHO-Composition in Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko revealed by the Rosetta Mission

Résumé

Containing some of the most pristine material in our solar system, comets are unique objects of study: Their slow formation in the outer region of the protoplanetary disk protected them from high temperatures and led to preservation of the original material that had formed our solar system. Thus, profound understanding of the chemical composition of comets has the potential to provide answers for fundamental scientific questions such as evolution of our solar system or how life emerged on Earth. However, decryption of the chemical composition of comets is difficult. Spacecraft observations often consist of single encounters at relatively large distances only and even ground-based observational methods appear to be limited for some organic molecules due to weak dipole moments. A new scientific approach was established when the Rosetta spacecraft was sent to comet Churyumov-Gerasmienko (67P). For the first time a spacecraft performed in-situ measurements of the coma and nucleus while accompanied the comet on its way around the Sun. Onboard the spacecraft, the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) determined the chemical composition of the volatiles in the coma at various distances and angles between comet, Sun, and spacecraft, from arrival at the comet in 2014 until the final landing in 2016. Based on these data, the existence of a surprising amount and complexity of organics in the (semi-)volatile phase of the comet was demonstrated, with some molecules being detected for the first time ever in comets. After revealing this unexpected complexity, a key step in decryption of the exact composition was made by deriving the CH- and CHO-composition from the DFMS space data. The study presented here uses data from the ROSINA Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer and combines laboratory calibration at the Bernese calibration facility (CASYMIR) and space data analysis. This combination produces the first detailed identification and quantification campaign of CH- and CHO-bearing molecules in comet 67P. The results are compared to measurement and modelling results from other comets and the interstellar medium.
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insu-04445321 , version 1 (07-02-2024)

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Markus Schuhmann, Kathrin Altwegg, Hans Balsiger, Jean-Jacques Berthelier, Johan de Keyser, et al.. CH- and CHO-Composition in Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko revealed by the Rosetta Mission. American Astronomical Society Meeting #234, Jun 2019, St Louis (Missouri), United States. ⟨insu-04445321⟩
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