| Literature DB >> 25613897 |
Holger Sierks1, Cesare Barbieri2, Philippe L Lamy3, Rafael Rodrigo4, Detlef Koschny5, Hans Rickman6, Horst Uwe Keller7, Jessica Agarwal8, Michael F A'Hearn9, Francesco Angrilli10, Anne-Therese Auger11, M Antonella Barucci12, Jean-Loup Bertaux13, Ivano Bertini14, Sebastien Besse5, Dennis Bodewits15, Claire Capanna11, Gabriele Cremonese16, Vania Da Deppo17, Björn Davidsson18, Stefano Debei10, Mariolino De Cecco19, Francesca Ferri14, Sonia Fornasier12, Marco Fulle20, Robert Gaskell21, Lorenza Giacomini14, Olivier Groussin11, Pablo Gutierrez-Marques8, Pedro J Gutiérrez22, Carsten Güttler8, Nick Hoekzema8, Stubbe F Hviid23, Wing-Huen Ip24, Laurent Jorda11, Jörg Knollenberg25, Gabor Kovacs8, J Rainer Kramm8, Ekkehard Kührt25, Michael Küppers26, Fiorangela La Forgia2, Luisa M Lara22, Monica Lazzarin2, Cédric Leyrat12, Josè J Lopez Moreno22, Sara Magrin2, Simone Marchi27, Francesco Marzari2, Matteo Massironi28, Harald Michalik29, Richard Moissl26, Stefano Mottola25, Giampiero Naletto30, Nilda Oklay8, Maurizio Pajola14, Marco Pertile31, Frank Preusker25, Lola Sabau32, Frank Scholten25, Colin Snodgrass8, Nicolas Thomas33, Cecilia Tubiana8, Jean-Baptiste Vincent8, Klaus-Peter Wenzel5, Mirco Zaccariotto31, Martin Pätzold34.
Abstract
Images from the OSIRIS scientific imaging system onboard Rosetta show that the nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko consists of two lobes connected by a short neck. The nucleus has a bulk density less than half that of water. Activity at a distance from the Sun of >3 astronomical units is predominantly from the neck, where jets have been seen consistently. The nucleus rotates about the principal axis of momentum. The surface morphology suggests that the removal of larger volumes of material, possibly via explosive release of subsurface pressure or via creation of overhangs by sublimation, may be a major mass loss process. The shape raises the question of whether the two lobes represent a contact binary formed 4.5 billion years ago, or a single body where a gap has evolved via mass loss.Entities:
Year: 2015 PMID： 25613897 DOI： 10.1126/science.aaa1044
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Science ISSN： 0036-8075 Impact factor: 47.728