Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Comparison of comet 81P/Wild 2 dust with interplanetary dust from comets

Ishii, Hope A., Bradley, John P., Dai, Zurong, Chi, Miaofang, Kearsley, Anton T., Burchell, Mark J., Browning, Nigel D., Molster, Frank (2008) Comparison of comet 81P/Wild 2 dust with interplanetary dust from comets. Science, 319 (5862). pp. 447-450. ISSN 0036-8075. (doi:10.1126/science.1150683) (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:5062)

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/10.1126/science.1150683

Abstract

The Stardust mission returned the first sample of a known outer solar system body, comet 81P/Wild 2, to Earth. The sample was expected to resemble chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles because many, and possibly all, such particles are derived from comets. Here, we report that the most abundant and most recognizable silicate materials in chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles appear to be absent from the returned sample, indicating that indigenous outer nebula material is probably rare in 81P/Wild 2. Instead, the sample resembles chondritic meteorites from the asteroid belt, composed mostly of inner solar nebula materials. This surprising finding emphasizes the petrogenetic continuum between comets and asteroids and elevates the astrophysical importance of stratospheric chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles as a precious source of the most cosmically primitive astromaterials.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1126/science.1150683
Subjects: Q Science > Q Science (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Physics and Astronomy
Depositing User: Mark Burchell
Date Deposited: 10 Mar 2009 18:28 UTC
Last Modified: 05 Nov 2024 09:37 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/5062 (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.