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Large heterogeneities in comet 67P as revealed by active pits from sinkhole collapse

Vincent, Jean-Baptiste and Bodewits, Dennis and Besse, Sébastien and Sierks, Holger and Barbieri, Cesare and Lamy, Philippe and Rodrigo, Rafael and Koschny, Detlef and Rickman, Hans and Keller, Horst Uwe and Agarwal, Jessica and A'Hearn, Michael F. and Auger, Anne-Thérèse and Barucci, Antonella and Bertaux, J.-L. and Bertini, I. and Capanna, C. and Cremonese, Gabriele and Da Deppo, V. and Davidsson, Björn and Debei, S. and De Cecco, M. and Ramy El-Maarry, Mohamed and Ferri, Francesca and Fornasier, Sonia and Fulle, Marco and Gaskell, Robert and Giacomini, Lorenza and Groussin, Olivier and Guilbert-Lepoutre, Aurélie and Gutierrez-Marques, P. and Gutiérrez, Pedro J. and Güttler, Carsten and Hoekzema, Nick and Hviid, Stubbe F. and Ip, Wing-Huen and Jorda, Laurent and Knollenberg, Jörg and Kovacs, Gabor and Kramm, Rainer and Kührt, Ekkehard and Küppers, Michael and La Forgia, Fiorangela and Lara, Luisa M. and Lazzarin, Monica and Lee, Vicky and Leyrat, Cédric and Lin, Zhong-Yi and Lopez Moreno, Josè J. and Lowry, Stephen and Magrin, Sara and Maquet, Lucie and Marchi, Simone and Marzari, Francesco and Massironi, Matteo and Michalik, Harald and Moissl, Richard and Mottola, Stefano and Naletto, Giampiero and Oklay, Nilda and Pajola, Maurizio and Preusker, Frank and Scholten, Frank and Thomas, Nicolas and Toth, Imre and Tubiana, Cecilia (2015) Large heterogeneities in comet 67P as revealed by active pits from sinkhole collapse. Nature, 523, pp. 63-66. Nature Publishing Group. doi: 10.1038/nature14564. ISSN 0028-0836.

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v523/n7558/full/nature14564.html

Abstract

Pits have been observed on many cometary nuclei mapped by spacecraft. It has been argued that cometary pits are a signature of endogenic activity, rather than impact craters such as those on planetary and asteroid surfaces. Impact experiments and models cannot reproduce the shapes of most of the observed cometary pits, and the predicted collision rates imply that few of the pits are related to impacts. Alternative mechanisms like explosive activity have been suggested, but the driving process remains unknown. Here we report that pits on comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko are active, and probably created by a sinkhole process, possibly accompanied by outbursts. We argue that after formation, pits expand slowly in diameter, owing to sublimation-driven retreat of the walls. Therefore, pits characterize how eroded the surface is: a fresh cometary surface will have a ragged structure with many pits, while an evolved surface will look smoother. The size and spatial distribution of pits imply that large heterogeneities exist in the physical, structural or compositional properties of the first few hundred metres below the current nucleus surface.

Item URL in elib:https://elib.dlr.de/97698/
Document Type:Article
Title:Large heterogeneities in comet 67P as revealed by active pits from sinkhole collapse
Authors:
AuthorsInstitution or Email of AuthorsAuthor's ORCID iDORCID Put Code
Vincent, Jean-BaptisteUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Bodewits, DennisUniversity of Maryland, USAUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Besse, SébastienESTEC, The NetherlandsUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Sierks, HolgerMPS GöttingenUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Barbieri, CesareUniversity of Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lamy, PhilippeLAM Marseille, FranceUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Rodrigo, RafaelCentro de Astrobiologia Madrid, SpainUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Koschny, DetlefESTEC, The NetherlandsUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Rickman, HansUppsala University, SwedenUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Keller, Horst UweTU BraunschweigUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Agarwal, JessicaMPS GöttingenUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
A'Hearn, Michael F.MPS GöttingenUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Auger, Anne-ThérèseLAM Marseille, FranceUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Barucci, AntonellaObservatoire de Paris-Meudon, FranceUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Bertaux, J.-L.Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales, CNRS/UVSQ/UPMC, 11 boulevard d’Alembert, 78280 Guyancourt, FranceUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Bertini, I.CISAS, Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Capanna, C.Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, FranceUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Cremonese, GabrieleINAF, Padova, IUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Da Deppo, V.CNR-IFN UOS Padova LUXOR, Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Davidsson, BjörnCentro de Astrobiologia, CSIC-INTA, 28850 Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid, SpainUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Debei, S.Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
De Cecco, M.UNITN, Univ. di Trento, Trento, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Ramy El-Maarry, MohamedPhysikalisches Institut der Universität Bern, Sidlerstraße 5, 3012 Bern, SwitzerlandUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Ferri, FrancescaCentro di Ateneo di Studi ed Attività Spaziali “Giuseppe Colombo” (CISAS), University of Padova, via Venezia 15, 35131 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Fornasier, SoniaLESIA-Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Universite Paris Diderot, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon, FranceUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Fulle, MarcoINAF Osservatorio Astronomico, via Tiepolo 11, 34014 Trieste, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Gaskell, RobertPlanetary Science Institute, Tucson, Arizona 85719, USAUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Giacomini, LorenzaCentro di Ateneo di Studi ed Attività Spaziali “Giuseppe Colombo” (CISAS), University of Padova, via Venezia 15, 35131 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Groussin, OlivierLaboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, UMR 7326, CNRS and Aix Marseille Université, 13388 Marseille Cedex 13, FranceUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Guilbert-Lepoutre, AurélieUniversity of Maryland, Department of Astronomy, College Park, Maryland 20742-2421, USAUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Gutierrez-Marques, P.Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Gutiérrez, Pedro J.Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomìa s/n, 18008 Granada, SpainUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Güttler, CarstenMax-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Hoekzema, NickMax-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Hviid, Stubbe F.Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), Institut für Planetenforschung, Rutherfordstraße 2, 12489 Berlin, GermanyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Ip, Wing-HuenNational Central University, Graduate Institute of Astronomy, 300 Chung-Da Rd, Chung-Li 32054, TaiwanUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Jorda, LaurentLaboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille, UMR 7326, CNRS and Aix Marseille Université, 13388 Marseille Cedex 13, FranceUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Knollenberg, JörgUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Kovacs, GaborMax-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Kramm, RainerMax-Planck-Institut für SonnensystemforschungUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Kührt, EkkehardUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Küppers, MichaelOperations Department, European Space Astronomy Centre/ESA, PO Box 78, 28691 Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, SpainUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
La Forgia, FiorangelaUniversity of Padova, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 3, 35122 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lara, Luisa M.Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomìa s/n, 18008 Granada, SpainUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lazzarin, MonicaUniversity of Padova, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 3, 35122 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lee, VickyNational Central University, Graduate Institute of Astronomy, 300 Chung-Da Rd, Chung-Li 32054, TaiwanUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Leyrat, CédricLESIA-Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Universite Paris Diderot, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon, FranceUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lin, Zhong-YiNational Central University, Graduate Institute of Astronomy, 300 Chung-Da Rd, Chung-Li 32054, TaiwanUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lopez Moreno, Josè J.Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC), Glorieta de la Astronomìa s/n, 18008 Granada, SpainUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Lowry, StephenThe University of Kent, School of Physical Sciences, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NZ, UKUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Magrin, SaraUniversity of Padova, Deptartment of Physics and Astronomy, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Maquet, LucieOperations Department, European Space Astronomy Centre/ESA, PO Box 78, 28691 Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, SpainUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Marchi, SimoneSolar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street, Suite 300, Boulder, Colorado 80302, USAUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Marzari, FrancescoUniversity of Padova, Deptartment of Physics and Astronomy, via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Massironi, MatteoDipartimento di Geoscienze, University of Padova, via Giovanni Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Michalik, HaraldInstitut für Datentechnik und Kommunikationsnetze der Technische Universität Braunschweig, Hans-Sommer-Straße 66, 38106 Braunschweig, GermanyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Moissl, RichardOperations Department, European Space Astronomy Centre/ESA, PO Box 78, 28691 Villanueva de la Canada, Madrid, SpainUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Mottola, StefanoUNSPECIFIEDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0457-3872UNSPECIFIED
Naletto, GiampieroCentro di Ateneo di Studi ed Attività Spaziali “Giuseppe Colombo” (CISAS), University of Padova, via Venezia 15, 35131 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Oklay, NildaMax-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Pajola, MaurizioCentro di Ateneo di Studi ed Attività Spaziali “Giuseppe Colombo” (CISAS), University of Padova, via Venezia 15, 35131 Padova, ItalyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Preusker, FrankUNSPECIFIEDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9005-4202UNSPECIFIED
Scholten, FrankUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Thomas, NicolasPhysikalisches Institut der Universität Bern, Sidlerstraße 5, 3012 Bern, SwitzerlandUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Toth, ImreKonkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, PO Box 67, 1525 Budapest, HungaryUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Tubiana, CeciliaMax-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Date:2 July 2015
Journal or Publication Title:Nature
Refereed publication:Yes
Open Access:No
Gold Open Access:No
In SCOPUS:Yes
In ISI Web of Science:Yes
Volume:523
DOI:10.1038/nature14564
Page Range:pp. 63-66
Publisher:Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:0028-0836
Status:Published
Keywords:Asteroids, comets, Kuiper belt, comet 67P
HGF - Research field:Aeronautics, Space and Transport
HGF - Program:Space
HGF - Program Themes:Space Exploration
DLR - Research area:Raumfahrt
DLR - Program:R EW - Space Exploration
DLR - Research theme (Project):R - Project ROSETTA Instruments (old)
Location: Berlin-Adlershof
Institutes and Institutions:Institute of Planetary Research > Asteroids and Comets
Institute of Planetary Research > Planetary Geodesy
Deposited By: Bründl, Tara-Marie
Deposited On:19 Oct 2015 10:44
Last Modified:22 Jun 2023 12:24

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