All cometary nuclei that formed in the early Solar System incorporated radionuclides and therefore were subject to internal radiogenic heating. Previous work predicts that if comets have a pebble-pile structure […]
Comets and Asteroids
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
OSIRIS-REx Samples Available for Request
The OSIRIS-REx curation team exhibited impressive persistence, patience, and resilience during disassembly of the flight hardware and initial sample processing, and they endured many surprises and challenges along the way.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
The Massalia Asteroid Family As The Origin Of Ordinary L Chondrites
Studies of micrometeorites in mid-Ordovician limestones and Earth’s impact craters indicate that our planet witnessed a massive infall of ordinary L chondrite material 466 million years (My) ago (Heck et […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Status Report
The Equilibrium Vapor Pressures of Ammonia and Oxygen Ices at Outer Solar System Temperatures
Few laboratory studies have investigated the vapor pressures of the volatiles that may be present as ices in the outer solar system; even fewer studies have investigated these species at […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Ancient Ice May Still Exist In Distant Space Objects
A paper recently accepted by Icarus presents findings about the Kuiper Belt Object 486958 Arrokoth, shedding new light on the preservation of volatile substances like carbon monoxide (CO) in such […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Relative Contribution From Comets And Carbonaceous Asteroids To Earth’s Volatile Budget In The Context Of An Early Instability
Recent models of solar system formation suggest that a dynamical instability among the giant planets happened within the first 100 Myr after disk dispersal, perhaps before the Moon-forming impact. As […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Origins Of Decimeter-sized Particles Around Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Methods. We algorithmically tracked thousands of individual particles through four OSIRIS/NAC image sequences of 67P’s near-nucleus coma. We then traced concentrated particle groups back to the nucleus surface, and estimated […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
QRIS: A Quantitative Reflectance Imaging System for the Pristine Sample of Asteroid Bennu
The Quantitative Reflectance Imaging System (QRIS) is a laboratory-based spectral imaging system constructed to image the sample of asteroid Bennu delivered to Earth by the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Hunting For Exocomet Transits In The TESS Database Using The Random Forest Method
This study introduces an approach to detecting exocomet transits in the dataset of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), specifically within its Sector 1. Given the limited number of exocomet […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Pre-perihelion Monitoring of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov
The discovery of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov offered the unique opportunity to obtain a detailed analysis of an object coming from another planetary system, and leaving behind material in our interplanetary […]