ESA Science & Technology - The morphological diversity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Publication date: 23 January 2015

Authors: Thomas, N., et al.

Journal: Science
Volume: 347
Issue: 6220
Year: 2015

Copyright: AAAS

Images of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko acquired by the OSIRIS (Optical, Spectroscopic and Infrared Remote Imaging System) imaging system onboard the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft at scales of better than 0.8 meter per pixel show a wide variety of different structures and textures. The data show the importance of airfall, surface dust transport, mass wasting, and insolation weathering for cometary surface evolution, and they offer some support for subsurface fluidization models and mass loss through the ejection of large chunks of material.