Prevailing Dust-transport Directions on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko
- Dust transport and deposition behind larger boulders on the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P/C–G) have been observed by the Rosetta mission. We present a mechanism for dust-transport vectors based on a homogeneous surface activity model incorporating in detail the topography of 67P/C–G. The combination of gravitation, gas drag, and Coriolis force leads to specific dust transfer pathways, which for higher dust velocities fuel the near-nucleus coma. By distributing dust sources homogeneously across the whole cometary surface, we derive a global dust-transport map of 67P/C–G. The transport vectors are in agreement with the reported wind-tail directions in the Philae descent area.
Author: | Tobias KramerORCiD, Matthias NoackORCiD |
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Document Type: | Article |
Parent Title (English): | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
Volume: | 813 |
Issue: | 2 |
First Page: | L33 |
Year of first publication: | 2015 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/813/2/L33 |