Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T07:51:35.144Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Comets and the Origin of Life: Structure of Comets Nuclei and Dust

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2017

A. Chantal Levasseur-Regourd
Affiliation:
Université Paris VI/Aéronomie, BP 3, F-91371 Verrières, France
Emmanuel Desvoivres
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Planétologie de Grenoble, BP 53, F-38041, Grenoble, France

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

From observations of fragmentation events, clues to a gravitational aggregates structure of some comets nuclei are given. From in-situ and remote light scattering observations, a very high porosity is estimated for dust in comae. These results suggest a possible survival of cometary organics during atmospheric entry at the epoch of intense bombardment. In the coming years, new missions to comets and laboratory measurements on the ISS, will be used to assess such a scenario.

Type
Origins and Evolution of Life
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004 

References

Babadzhanov, P. B. 2002, A&A, 384, 317 Google Scholar
Blum, J. 2000, Phys. Rev. Lett, 85, 2426 Google Scholar
Desvoivres, E., Klinger, J., & Levasseur-Regourd, A. C. 2000, Icarus, 144, 172 Google Scholar
Fulle, M. Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., McBride, N., & Hadamcik, E. 2000, AJ, 119, 1968 Google Scholar
Hadamcik, E., Renard, J. B., Worms, J. C., Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., & Masson, M. Icarus, 155, 497 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jessberger, E. K., Stephan, T., Rost, D., Arndt, P., Maetz, M., Stadermann, F. J., Brownlee, D. E., Bradley, J. P., & Kurat, G. 2001, in Interplanetary Dust, ed. Gruen, E., et al. (Springer: Heidelberg), 253 Google Scholar
Levasseur-Regourd, A. C. 1999, Space Sci. Rev., 90, 163 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., McBride, N., Hadamcik, E., & Fulle, M. 1999, A&A, 348, 636 Google Scholar
Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., Haudebourg, V., Cabane, M., & Worms, J. C. 2001, in ESA SP-454, First International Symposium on Microgravity Research and Applications, 797 Google Scholar
Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., Hadamcik, E., & Gaulme, P. ESA SP-500, ACM 2002, in press Google Scholar
Margot, J. L., Nolan, M. C., Benner, L. A. M., Ostro, S. J., Jurgens, R. F., Giorgini, J. D., Slade, M. A., & Campbell, D. B. 2002, Science 296, 1445 Google Scholar
McBride, N., Green, S., Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., Goidet-Devel, B., & Renard, J. B. 1997, MNRAS, 289, 535 Google Scholar
Pierazzo, E., & Chyba, C. F. 1999, Meteoritics Planet. Sci. 34, 909 Google Scholar
Worms, J. C., Renard, J. B., Hadamcik, E., Levasseur-Regourd, A. C., & Gayet, J. F. 1999, Icarus, 142, 281 CrossRefGoogle Scholar