Comets and asteroids: advances since Halley's comet
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Micrometeoroid Events in LISA Pathfinder
The zodiacal dust complex, a population of dust and small particles that pervades the solar system, provides important insight into the formation and dynamics of planets, comets, asteroids, and other bodies. We present a new set of data obtained from direct measurements of momentum transfer to a spacecraft from individual particle impacts. This technique is made possible by the extreme precision of the instruments flown on the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft, a technology demonstrator for a future space-based gravitational wave observatory. Pathfinder employed a technique known as drag-free control that achieved rejection of external disturbances, including particle impacts, using a micropropulsion system. Using a simple model of the impacts and knowledge of the control system, we show that it is possible to detect impacts and measure properties such as the transferred momentum, direction of travel, and location of impact on the spacecraft. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic search for impacts during 4348 hr of Pathfinder data. We report a total of 54 candidates with transferred momenta ranging from 0.2 to 230 μNs. We furthermore make a comparison of these candidates with models of micrometeoroid populations in the inner solar system, including those resulting from Jupiter-family comets (JFCs), Oort Cloud comets, Halley-type comets, and asteroids. We find that our measured population is consistent with a population dominated by JFCs, with some evidence for a smaller contribution from Halley-type comets, in agreement with consensus models of the zodiacal dust complex in the momentum range sampled by LISA Pathfinder.
Thorpe, J. I.↗
Earth-return trajectory options for the 1985-86 Halley opportunity
A unique and useful family of ballistic trajectories to Halley's comet is described. The distinguishing feature of this family is that all of the trajectories return to the Earth's vicinity after the Halley intercept. It is shown that, in some cases, the original Earth-return path can be reshaped by Earth-swingby maneuvers to achieve additional small-body encounters. One mission profile includes flybys of the asteroid Geographos and comet Tempel-2 following the Halley intercept. Dual-flyby missions involving comets Encke and Borrelly and the asteroid Anteros are also discussed. Dust and gas samples are collected during the high-velocity (about 70 km/sec) flythrough of Halley, and then returned to a high-apogee Earth orbit. Aerobraking maneuvers are used to bring the sample-return spacecraft to a low-altitude circular orbit where it can be recovered by the Space Shuttle.
Farquhar, R. W.↗
The future of cometary plasma research
Advances in the acquisition and analysis of cometary data are reviewed with attention given to current research and projects under development. The need for supplementing the present cometary data is underscored by discussing observational missions from the ground and earth orbit such as the Giotto Extended Mission and the Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby. The interpretation of Comet Halley data is characterized as advanced with respect to both complete observational data and sophisticated modeling.
Neugebauer, Marcia↗
External Sources of Water for Mercury's Putative Ice Deposits
Radar images have revealed the possible presence of ice deposits in Mercury's polar regions. Although thermal models indicate that water ice can be stable in permanently shaded regions near Mercury's poles, the ultimate source of the water remains unclear. We use stochastic models and other theoretical methods to investigate the role of external sources in supplying Mercury with the requisite amount of water. By extrapolating the current terrestrial influx of interplanetary dust particles to that at Mercury, we find that continual micrometeoritic bombardment of Mercury over the last 3.5 byr could have resulted in the delivery of (3-60) x 10(exp 16) grams of water ice to the permanently shaded regions at Mercury's poles (equivalent to an average ice thickness of 0.8-20 m). Erosion by micrometeoritic impact on exposed ice deposits could reduce the above value by about a half. For comparison, the current ice deposits on Mercury are believed to be somewhere between approx. 2 and 20 m thick. Using a Monte Carlo model to simulate the impact history of Mercury, we find that asteroids and comets can also deliver an amount of water consistent with the observations. Impacts from Jupiter-family comets over the last 3.5 billion years can supply (0.1-200) x 10(exp 16) grams of water to Mercury's polar regions (corresponding to ice deposits 0.05-60 m thick), Halley-type comets can supply (0.2-20) x 10(exp 16) grams of water to the poles (0.07-7 m of ice), and asteroids can provide (0.4-20) x 10(exp 16) grams of water to the poles (0.1-8 m of ice). Although all these external sources are nominally sufficient to explain the estimated amount of ice currently at Mercury's poles, impacts by a few large comets and/or asteroids seem to provide the best explanation for both the amount and cleanliness of the ice deposits on Mercury. Despite their low population estimates in the inner solar system, Jupiter-family comets are particularly promising candidates for delivering water to Mercury because they have a larger volatile content than asteroids and more favorable orbital and impact characteristics than Halley-type comets.
Moses, Julianne I.↗
Global environmental effects of impact-generated aerosols: Results from a general circulation model
Cooling and darkening at Earth's surface are expected to result from the interception of sunlight by the high altitude worldwide dust cloud generated by impact of a large asteroid or comet, according to the one-dimensional radioactive-convective atmospheric model (RCM) of Pollack et al. An analogous three-dimensional general circulation model (GCM) simulation obtains the same basic result as the RCM but there are important differences in detail. In the GCM simulation the heat capacity of the oceans, not included in the RCM, substantially mitigates land surface cooling. On the other hand, the GCM's low heat capacity surface allows surface temperatures to drop much more rapidly than reported by Pollack et al. These two differences between RCM and GCM simulations were noted previously in studies of nuclear winter; GCM results for comet/asteroid winter, however, are much more severe than for nuclear winter because the assumed aerosol amount is large enough to intercept all sunlight falling on Earth. In the simulation the global average of land surface temperature drops to the freezing point in just 4.5 days, one-tenth the time required in the Pollack et al. simulation. In addition to the standard case of Pollack et al., which represents the collision of a 10-km diameter asteroid with Earth, additional scenarios are considered ranging from the statistically more frequent impacts of smaller asteroids to the collision of Halley's comet with Earth. In the latter case the kinetic energy of impact is extremely large due to the head-on collision resulting from Halley's retrograde orbit.
Covey, C.↗
Utilization of multi-body trajectories in the Sun-Earth-Moon system
An overview of three uncommon trajectory concepts for space missions in the Sun-Earth-Moon System is presented. One concept uses a special class of libration-point orbits called 'halo orbits.' It is shown that members of this orbit family are advantageous for monitoring the solar wind input to the Earth's magnetosphere, and could also be used to establish a continuous communications link between the Earth and the far side of the Moon. The second concept employs pretzel-like trajectories to explore the Earth's geomagnetic tail. These trajectories are formed by using the Moon to carry out a prescribed sequence of gravity-assist maneuvers. Finally, there is the 'boomerang' trajectory technique for multiple-encounter missions to comets and asteroids. In this plan, Earth-swingby maneuvers are used to retarget the original spacecraft trajectory. The boomerang method could be used to produce a triple-encounter sequence which includes flybys of comets Halley and Tempel-2 as well as the asteroid Geographos.
Farquhar, R. W.↗
Evolution of comets into asteroids
This paper presents observational evidence, together with recent theoretical developments, supporting the hypothesis that at least some asteroids might be extinct or dormant cometary nuclei. The observations include the discovery of a number of apparent asteroids in chaotic Jupiter-crossing orbits; the IRAS discovery of 1983 TB, an asteroid in the same orbit as the Geminid meteor shower; the apparent low activity levels determined for several short-period comet nuclei including Comet Halley; and observations of possible cometary activity in some earth-crossing asteroids. Theoretical developments include explorations of dynamical mechanisms capable of delivering main-belt asteroids into earth-crossing orbits, and an understanding of possible processes which may affect comets during their long residence in the Oort cloud and lead to the formation of nonvolatile crusts before and after they enter the planetary system.
Weissman, Paul R.↗
1991 DA: An asteroid in a bizarre orbit
Asteroidal object 1991 DA has an orbit of high inclination, crossing the planets from Mars to Uranus. This is unique for an asteroid, but not unusual for a comet of the Halley-type: it therefore seems likely that 1991 DA is an extinct or dormant comet. Previous CCD imaging has shown no indication of a coma; spectroscopic observations of 1991 DA which lack any evidence of strong comet-like emissions are reported. Numerical integrations of the orbit of this object were performed which show that is has been remarkably stable for the past approximately 20,000 yr, but chaotic before that. This may allow a new estimate to be made of the physical lifetimes of comets.
Steel, Duncan↗
The Age of the Surface of Venus
Impact craters on Venus appear to be uniformly and randomly scattered over a once, but no longer, geologically active planet. To first approximation, the planet shows a single surface of a single age. Here we use Monte Carlo cratering simulations to estimate the age of the surface of Venus. The simulations are based on the present populations of Earth-approaching asteroids, Jupiter-family, Halley-family, and long period comets; they use standard Schmidt-Housen crater scalings in the gravity regime; and they describe interaction with the atmosphere using a semi-analytic 'pancake' model that is calibrated to detailed numerical simulations of impactors striking Venus. The lunar and terrestrial cratering records are also simulated. Both of these records suffer from poor statistics. The Moon has few young large craters and fewer still whose ages are known, and the record is biased because small craters tend to look old and large craters tend to look young. The craters of the Earth provide the only reliable ages, but these craters are few, eroded, of uncertain diameter, and statistically incomplete. Together the three cratering records can be inverted to constrain the flux of impacting bodies, crater diameters given impact parameters, and the calibration of atmospheric interactions. The surface age of Venus that results is relatively young. Alternatively, we can use our best estimates for these three input parameters to derive a best estimate for the age of the surface of Venus. Our tentative conclusions are that comets are unimportant, that the lunar and terrestrial crater records are both subject to strong biases, that there is no strong evidence for an increasing cratering flux in recent years, and that that the nominal age of the surface of Venus is about 600 Ma, although the uncertainty is about a factor of two. The chief difference between our estimate and earlier, somewhat younger estimates is that we find that the venusian atmosphere is less permeable to impacting bodies than supposed by earlier studies. An older surface increases the likelihood that Venus is dead.
Zahnle, K. J.↗
Long-term evolution of 1991 DA: A dynamically evolved extinct Halley-type comet
The long-term dynamical evolution of 21 variational orbits for the intermediate-period asteroid 1991 DA was followed for up to +/-10(exp 5) years from the present. 1991 DA is close to the 2:7 resonance with Jupiter; it has avoided close encounters, within 1 AU, with this planet for at least the past 30,000 years, even at the node crossing. The future evolution typically shows no close encounters with Jupiter within at least 50,000 years. This corresponds to the mean time between node crossings with either Jupiter or Saturn. Close encounters with Saturn and Jupiter lead to a chaotic evolution for the whole ensemble, while secular perturbations cause large-amplitude swings in eccentricity and inclination (the latter covering the range 15 deg approximately less than i approximately less than 85 deg) which correlate with deep excursions of the perihelion distance to values much less than 1 AU. These variations are similar to those found in P/Machholz and a variety of other high-inclination orbits, e.g., P/Hartley-IRAS. We emphasize the connection between the orbital evolution of 1991 DA and that of Halley-type comets. If 1991 DA was once a comet, it is not surprising that it is now extinct.
Hahn, Gerhard↗
The comet rendezvous asteroid flyby mission
The Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) mission is designed to answer the many questions raised by the Halley missions by exploring a cometary nucleus in detail, following it around its orbit and studying its changing activity as it moves closer to and then away from the Sun. In addition, on its way to rendezvous with the comet, CRAF will fly by a large, primitive class main belt asteroid and will return valuable data for comparison with the comet results. The selected asteroid is 449 Hamburga with a diameter of 88 km and a surface composition of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The expected flyby date is January, 1998. The CRAF spacecraft will continue to make measurements in orbit around the cometary nucleus as they both move closer to the Sun, until the dust and gas hazard becomes unsafe. At that point the spacecraft will move in and out between 50 and 2,500 kilometers to study the inner coma and the cometary ionosphere, and to collect dust and gas samples for onboard analysis. Following perihelion, the spacecraft will make a 50,000 km excursion down the comet's tail, further investigating the solar wind interaction with the cometary atmosphere. The spacecraft will return to the vicinity of the nucleus about four months after perihelion to observe the changes that have taken place. If the spacecraft remains healthy and adequate fuel is still onboard, an extended mission to follow the comet nucleus out to aphelion is anticipated.
Morrison, David↗
Clementine Observations of the Zodiacal Light and the Dust Content of the Inner Solar System
Using the Moon to occult the Sun, the Clementine spacecraft used its navigation cameras to map the inner zodiacal light at optical wavelengths over elongations of 3 approx. less than epsilon approx. less than 30 deg from the Sun. This surface brightness map is then used to infer the spatial distribution of interplanetary dust over heliocentric distances of about 10 solar radii to the orbit of Venus. The averaged ecliptic surface brightness of the zodiacal light falls off as Z(epsilon) is a member of epsilon(sup -2.45 +/- 0.05), which suggests that the dust cross-sectional density nominally falls off as sigma(r) is a member of r(sup - 1.45 +/- 0.05). The interplanetary dust also has an albedo of alpha approx. = 0.1 that is uncertain by a factor of approx. 2. Asymmetries of approx. 10% are seen in directions east-west and north-south of the Sun, and these may be due the giant planets' secular gravitational perturbations. We apply a simple model that attributes the zodiacal light as due to three dust populations having distinct inclination distributions, namely, dust from asteroids and Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) having characteristic inclinations of i approx. 7 deg, dust from Halley-type comets having i approx. 33 deg, and an isotropic cloud of dust from Oort Cloud comets. The best-fitting scenario indicates that asteroids + JFCs are the source of about 45% of the optical dust cross section seen in the ecliptic at 1 AU but that at least 89% of the dust cross section enclosed by a 1-AU-radius sphere is of a cometary origin. Each population's radial density variations can also deviate somewhat from the nominal sigma(r) is a member of r(sup -1.45). When these results are extrapolated out to the asteroid belt, we find an upper limit on the mass of the light-reflecting asteroidal dust that is equivalent to a 12-km asteroid, and a similar extrapolation of the isotropic dust cloud out to Oort Cloud distances yields a mass equivalent to a 30-km comet, although the latter mass is uncertain by orders of magnitude.
Hahn, Joseph M.↗
FASAC Technical Assessment Report: Soviet Space Science Research
This report is the work of a panel of eight US scientists who surveyed and assessed Soviet research in the spare sciences. All of the panelists were very familiar with Soviet research through their knowledge of the published scientific literature and personal contacts with Soviet and other foreign colleagues. In addition, all of the panelists reviewed considerable additional open literature--scientific, and popular, including news releases. The specific disciplines of Soviet space science research examined in detail for the report were: solar-terrestrial research, lunar and planetary research, space astronomy and astrophysics, and, life sciences. The Soviet Union has in the past carried out an ambitious program in lunar exploration and, more recently, in studies of the inner planets, Mars and especially Venus. The Soviets have provided scientific data about the latter planet which has been crucial for studies of the planet's evolution. Future programs envision an encounter with Halley's Comet, in March 1986, and missions to Mars and asteroids. The Soviet programs in the life sciences and solar-terrestrial research have been long-lasting and systematically pursued. Much of the ground-based and space-based research in these two disciplines appears to be motivated by the requirement to establish long-term human habitation in near-Earth space. The Soviet contributions to new discoveries and understanding in observational space astronomy and astrophysics have been few. This is in significant contrast to the very excellent theoretical work contributed by Soviet scientists in this discipline.
Lanzerotti, L. J.↗
Colour, albedo and nucleus size of Halley's comet
Photometry of Halley's comet in the B, J, V, and K broadband filters during a time when the coma was very weak and presumed to contribute negligibly to the broadband photometry is reported. The V-J and J-K colors suggest that the color of the nucleus of Halley's comet is similar to that of the D-type asteroids, which in turn suggests that the surface of the nucleus has an albedo less than 0.1.
Cruikshank, D. P.↗
Planetary spectroscopy
The main goal of the research is charge coupled device (CCD) spectroscopic and imaging studies of the solar system in support of spacecraft investigations. Studies include the physical behavior of comets, the atmosphere of the gaseous planets, and the solid surfaces of satellites and asteroids. The major observing program consisted of approximately 50 nights of photometry of Comet Halley in order to resolve the controversy over this comet's rotation period. This data is presently being analyzed. Additional observing projects included the spectroscopic occultation of Charon by Pluto, reflection spectroscopy of Mercury, and a spectrum of the satellite Oberon. Mercury data does not corroborate the Fe(++) absorption feature reported by McCord and Clark at 8800 A but instead potentially shows a weaker feature at longer wavelengths. This position is in much closer accord with expectations for Mercury since a band center near 8800 A implies too little Fe(++) on Mercury, especially if band shifts with temperature are considered. The Pluto project proved that the deep methane absorptions visible in their combined specta are due soley to Pluto with Charon showing a flat and featureless spectrum. It appears that if Charon ever contained a substantial methane component, the satellite's low surface gravity could not hold it and the methane evaporated and escaped.
Fink, Uwe↗
A comparison of the continuum colors of P/Halley, other comets, and asteroids
Early observations (1985 Feb.) of P/Halley were made with broadband BVJK filters when a substantial fraction of the light came from the nucleus; the resulting colors appear red, but with signal-to-noise ratios less than or = 5. More recent observations were made with the narrower International Halley Watch continuum filters when the light from the comet is dominated by the coma. The colors over the wavelength range 0.3 to 0.7 microns are more neutral. Continuum colors were also observed for other comets. All show moderately red to very red colors that can be best matched by asteroids of the P and D spectral classes, suggesting that the refractory component of comets is similar to that of the more distant asteroids.
Tholen, D. J.↗
A study of unmanned mission opportunities to comets and asteroids
Several unmanned multiple-target mission opportunities to comets and asteroids were studied. The targets investigated include Grigg-Skjellerup, Giacobini-Zinner, Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak, Borrelly, Halley, Schaumasse, Geographos, Eros, Icarus, and Toro, and the trajectories consist of purely ballistic flight, except that powered swingbys and deep space burns are employed when necessary. Optimum solar electric rendezvous trajectories to the comets Giacobini-Zinner/85, Borrelly/87, and Temple (2)/83 and /88 employing the 8.67 kw Sert III spacecraft modified for interplanetary flight were also investigated. The problem of optimizing electric propulsion heliocentric trajectories, including the effects of geocentric launch asymptote declination on launch vehicle performance capability, was formulated, and a solution developed using variational calculus techniques. Improvements were made to the HILTOP trajectory optimization computer program. An error analysis of high-thrust maneuvers involving spin-stabilized spacecraft was developed and applied to a synchronous meteorological satellite mission.
Mann, F. I.↗