Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Aims.We provide a detailed quantitative analysis of isolated boulder fields situated in three different regions of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: Imhotep, Hapi, and Hatmehit. This is done to supply a useful method for analyzing the morphology of the boulders and to characterize the regions themselves. Methods.We used OSIRIS Narrow Angle Camera images with a spatial scale smaller than 2 m px−1and analyzed the size-frequency distribution and the cumulative fractional area per boulder population. In addition, we correlated shape parameters, such as circularity and solidity, with both the spatial and the size-frequency distribution of the three populations. Results.We identified 11 811 boulders in the Imhotep, Hapi, and Hatmehit regions. We found that the Hatmehit and Imhotep areas show power indices in the range of −2.3/−2.7. These values could represent a transition between gravitational events caused by thermal weathering and sublimation, and material formed during collapses that has undergone sublimation. The Hapi area is characterized by a lower power index (−1.2/−1.7), suggesting that those boulders have a different origin. They can be the result of material formed during gravitational events and collapses that has undergone continuous fragmentation. We calculated the cumulative fractional area (CFA) in order to investigate how the area is covered by boulders as a function of their sizes. The Hatmehit and Imhotep regions show a CFA that is well fit by a power law. In contrast, the Hapi area does not show the same trend. We analyzed the fractal distributions, finding that the populations seem to be fractal at all dimensions, except for the Hapi distribution, which shows a possible fractal behavior for small dimensions only. Finally, the average values of the shape parameters reveal solid and roundish boulders in all populations we studied.
Source: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Authors: P. Cambianica, G. Cremonese, G. Naletto, A. Lucchetti, M. Pajola, L. Penasa, E. Simioni, M. Massironi, S. Ferrari, D. Bodewits, F. La Forgia, H. Sierks, P. L. Lamy, R. Rodrigo, D. Koschny, B. Davidsson, M. A. Barucci, J.-L. Bertaux, I. Bertini, V. Da Deppo, S. Debei, M. De Cecco, J. Deller, S. Fornasier, M. Fulle, P. J. Gutiérrez, C. Güttler, W.-H. Ip, H. U. Keller, L. M. Lara, M. Lazzarin, Z.-Y. Lin, J. J. López-Moreno, F. Marzari, S. Mottola, X. Shi, F. Scholten, I. Toth, C. Tubiana, J.-B. Vincent
Institutions: University of Padua, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, National Institute for Astrophysics, Auburn University, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux, observations spatiales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Centro de Astrobiología, International Space Science Institute, European Space Research and Technology Centre, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique, Université Paris Diderot, University of Trento, Trieste Astronomical Observatory, Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Macau University of Science and Technology, National Central University, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR), Technische Universität Braunschweig, Konkoly Observatory
Language: English
Topic: Astro and Planetary Science
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2955100376