Journal articles
H2O and O2 absorption in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko measured by the Alice far-ultraviolet spectrograph on Rosetta
Brian A. Keeney
1
S. Alan Stern
1
Michael F. A'Hearn
2
Jean-Loup Bertaux
3
Lori M. Feaga
2
Paul D. Feldman
4
Richard A. Medina
1
Joel Wm. Parker
1
Jon P. Pineau
5
Eric Schindhelm
1
Andrew J. Steffl
1
M. Versteeg
6
Harold A. Weaver
7
Brian A. Keeney 1
Author
S. Alan Stern 1
Author
Michael F. A'Hearn 2
Author
Jean-Loup Bertaux 3
Author
Harold A. Weaver 7
Author
1
Department of Space Studies [Boulder] (United States)
- SwRI - Southwest Research Institute [Boulder] (1050 Walnut St, Suite 300, Boulder, CO 80302 - United States)
2
Department of Astronomy [College Park] (United States)
- University of Maryland [College Park] (College Park, MD 20742 - United States)
- University of Maryland System (United States)
3
IMPEC - LATMOS (France)
- LATMOS - Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (11 boulevard d'Alembert
Quartier des Garennes
78280 - Guyancourt - France)
- CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique : UMR8190 (France)
- INSU - CNRS - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers : UMR8190 (INSU-CNRS 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75794 Paris Cedex 16 - France)
- UPMC - Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 : UMR8190 (4 place Jussieu - 75005 Paris - France)
- UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines : UMR8190 (55 avenue de Paris - 78035 Versailles cedex - France)
4
Department of Physics and Astronomy [Baltimore] (3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 - United States)
- JHU - Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland 410-516-8000 - United States)
5
Stellar Solutions, inc. (250 Cambridge Avenue, Suite 204, Palo Alto, CA 94306 - United States)
6
SwRI - Southwest Research Institute [San Antonio] (6220 Culebra Rd, San Antonio, TX 78238 - United States)
7
APL - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, Maryland - United States)
Abstract : We have detected H2O and O2 absorption against the far-UV continuum of stars located on lines of sight near the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko using the Alice imaging spectrograph on Rosetta. These stellar appulses occurred at impact parameters of ρ = 4–20 km, and heliocentric distances ranging from Rh = − 1.8 to 2.3 au (negative values indicate pre-perihelion observations). The measured H2O column densities agree well with nearly contemporaneous values measured by VIRTIS-H. The clear detection of O2 independently confirms the initial detection by the ROSINA mass spectrometer; however, the relative abundance of O2/H2O derived from the stellar spectra (11–68 per cent, with a median value of 25 per cent) is considerably larger than published values found by ROSINA. The cause of this difference is unclear, but potentially related to ROSINA measuring number density at the spacecraft position while Alice measures column density along a line of sight that passes near the nucleus.
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Journal articles
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https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01574264
Contributor : Catherine Cardon <>
Submitted on : Saturday, August 12, 2017 - 6:13:45 PM
Last modification on : Friday, January 10, 2020 - 3:42:30 PM
Contributor : Catherine Cardon <>
Submitted on : Saturday, August 12, 2017 - 6:13:45 PM
Last modification on : Friday, January 10, 2020 - 3:42:30 PM
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- HAL Id : insu-01574264, version 1
- DOI : 10.1093/mnras/stx1426
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INSU | LATMOS | CNRS | UPMC | UVSQ | UNIV-PARIS-SACLAY | SORBONNE-UNIVERSITE | SU-SCIENCES
Citation
Brian A. Keeney, S. Alan Stern, Michael F. A'Hearn, Jean-Loup Bertaux, Lori M. Feaga, et al.. H2O and O2 absorption in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko measured by the Alice far-ultraviolet spectrograph on Rosetta. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy P - Oxford Open Option A, 2017, 469 (Suppl_2), pp.S158 - S177. ⟨10.1093/mnras/stx1426⟩. ⟨insu-01574264⟩
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