Spectrophotometry of the Khonsu region on the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko using OSIRIS instrument images
Deshapriya, J.D.P. and Barucci, M.A. and Fornasier, S. and Feller, C. and Hasselmann, P.H. and Sierks, H. and El-Maarry, Mohamed Ramy and Pajola, M. and Barbieri, C. and Lamy, P.L. and Rodrigo, R. and Koschny, D. and Rickman, H. and Agarwal, J. and A'Hearn, M.F. and Bertaux, J.-L. and Bertini, I. and Boudreault, S. and Cremonese, G. and Da Deppo, V. and Davidsson, B.J.R. and Debei, S. and Deller, J. and De Cecco, M. and Fulle, M. and Gicquel, A. and Groussin, O. and Gutierrez, P.J. and Güttler, C. and Hofmann, M. and Hviid, S.F. and Ip, W. and Jorda, L. and Keller, H.U. and Knollenberg, J. and Kramm, R. and Kührt, E. and Küppers, M. and Lara, L. and Lazzarin, M. and Lopez Moreno, J.J. and Marzari, F. and Mottola, S. and Naletto, G. and Oklay, N. and Perna, D. and Pommerol, A. and Thomas, N. and Tubiana, C. and Vincent, J.-B. (2016) Spectrophotometry of the Khonsu region on the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko using OSIRIS instrument images. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 462 (Suppl), S274-S286. ISSN 0035-8711.
Abstract
Our work focuses on the spectrophotometric analysis of selected terrain and bright patches in the Khonsu region on the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Despite the variety of geological features, their spectrophotometric properties appear to indicate a similar composition. It is noticeable that the smooth areas in Khonsu possess similar spectrophotometric behaviour to some other regions of the comet. We observed bright patches on Khonsu with an estimation of >40 per cent of normal albedo and suggest that they are associated with H2O ice. One of the studied bright patches has been observed to exist on the surface for more than 5 months without a major decay of its size, implying the existence of potential sub-surface icy layers. Its location may be correlated with a cometary outburst during the perihelion passage of the comet in 2015 August, and we interpret it to have triggered the surface modifications necessary to unearth the stratified icy layers beneath the surface. A boulder analysis on Khonsu leads to a power-law index of −3.1 +0.2/−0.3 suggesting a boulder formation, shaped by varying geological processes for different morphological units.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | techniques: photometric, comets: individual: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Nov 2018 15:16 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:46 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/25026 |
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