Comet 81P/Wild 2 Under a Microscope
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · Jet Propulsion Laboratory · +44 more institutions
Abstract
The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 45.11
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 23
Authors
183- DED. E. BrownleeCorresponding
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Washington, Campus France, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
- PTP. Tsou
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Washington, Campus France, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
- JAJ. Aléon
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Washington, Campus France, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
- CMC. M. O'd. Alexander
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Washington, Campus France, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
- TATohru Araki
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, North Carolina State University, University of Washington, Campus France, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
Topics & keywords
- Comet
- Formation and evolution of the Solar System
- Solar System
- Astrobiology
- Silicate
- Comet dust
- Meteorite
- Presolar grains
Funding
- SISmithsonian Institution
- NANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
- CICarnegie Institution of Washington
- CICalifornia Institute of Technology
- NCNorth Carolina State University
- UOUniversity of WashingtonAward: WA 98195
- GTGlenn T. Seaborg Institute
- ICImperial College London
- INIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica
- I-INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania
- ULUniversité Lille 1 - Sciences et Technologies
- ARAmes Research CenterAward: CA 94035
- JSJohnson Space Center
- LLLawrence Livermore National Laboratory