Composition of comet Halley dust particles from Vega observations

J. Kissel (1) , R. Z. Sagdeev (2) , Jean-Loup Bertaux (3) , V. N. Angarov (4) , J. Audouze (5) , Jacques-Emile Blamont (3) , K. Büchler (1) , E. N. Evlanov (2) , H. Fechtig (1) , M. N. Fomenkova (2) , H. von Hoerner (6) , N. A. Inogamov (2) , V. N. Khromov (2) , W. Knabe (1) , F. Krueger (7) , Y. Langevin (8) , V. B. Leonas (2) , Anny Chantal Levasseur-Regourd (3) , G. G. Managadze (2) , S. N. Podkolzin (2) , V. D. Shapiro (2) , S. R. Tabaldyev (4) , B. V. Zubkov (2)

1 MPIK - Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik
2 IKI - Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
3 SA - Service d'aéronomie
4 National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyz Republic
5 IAP - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
6 von Hoerner und Sulger Electronic Gmbh
7 MPI Consultant
8 Laboratoire Rene Bernas

The dust impact mass analyser (PUMA) carried by the spacecraft Vega 1 and Vega 2 has provided the first direct measurements of the physical and chemical properties of cometary dust. Particles of mass <10⁻¹⁴ g are much more abundant than was predicted by models1. Most of the particles are rich in light elements such as H, C, N and O, lending support to models that describe cometary material as consisting of radiation-processed ices. Three examples of mass spectra for typical particle compositions are shown.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]

J. Kissel, R. Z. Sagdeev, Jean-Loup Bertaux, V. N. Angarov, J. Audouze, et al.. Composition of comet Halley dust particles from Vega observations. Nature, 1986, 321 (S6067), pp.280-282. ⟨10.1038/321280a0⟩. ⟨insu-03584839⟩