Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Geologic mapping of the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's Northern hemisphere

Giacomini, L., Massironi, M., El-Maarry, M. R., Penasa, L., Pajola, M., Thomas, N., Lowry, S.C., Barbieri, C., Cremonese, G., Ferri, F., and others. (2016) Geologic mapping of the Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's Northern hemisphere. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 462 . S352-S367. ISSN 0035-8711. (doi:10.1093/mnras/stw2848) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:63511)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2848

Abstract

The Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS), the scientific imaging system onboard the Rosetta mission, has been acquiring images of the nucleus of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko since 2014 August with a resolution which allows a detailed analysis of its surface. Indeed, data reveal a complex surface morphology which is likely the expression of different processes which occurred at different times on the cometary nucleus. In order to characterize these different morphologies and better understand their distribution, we performed a geologic mapping of comet's 67P Northern hemisphere in which features have been distinguished based on their morphological, textural and stratigraphic characteristics. For this purpose, we used narrow-angle camera images acquired in 2014 August and September with a spatial scale ranging from 1.2 to 2.4 m pixel-1. Several different geologic units have been identified on the basis of their different surface textures, granulometry and morphology. Some of these units are distinctive and localized, whereas others are more common and distributed all over the Northern hemisphere. Moreover, different types of linear features have been distinguished on the basis of their morphology. Some of these lineaments have never been observed before on a comet and can offer important clues on the internal structures of the nucleus itself. The geologic mapping results presented here will allow us to better understand the processes which affected the nucleus' surface and thus the origin and evolutionary history of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. © 2016 The Authors.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1093/mnras/stw2848
Additional information: cited By 2
Subjects: Q Science > QB Astronomy > QB651 Planets, Minor
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Depositing User: Stephen Lowry
Date Deposited: 21 Sep 2017 11:07 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 12:22 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/63511 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.