Comet 81P/Wild 2 Under a Microscope
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-15-2006
Abstract
The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.
Department
Physics and Astronomy
Publication Title
Science
Recommended Citation
D. Brownlee, P. Tsou, J. Aléon, C. Alexander, T. Araki, S. Bajt, G. Baratta, R. Bastien, P. Bland, P. Bleuet, J. Borg, J. Bradley, A. Brearley, F. Brenker, S. Brennan, J. Bridges, N. Browning, J. Brucato, E. Bullock, M. Burchell, H. Busemann, A. Butterworth, M. Chaussidon, A. Cheuvront, M. Chi, M. Cintala, B. Clark, S. Clement, G. Cody, L. Colangeli, G. Cooper, P. Cordier, C. Daghlian, Z. Dai, L. D’Hendecourt, Z. Djouadi, G. Dominguez, T. Duxbury, J. Dworkin, D. Ebel, T. Economou, S. Fakra, S. Fairey, S. Fallon, G. Ferrini, T. Ferroir, H. Fleckenstein, C. Floss, G. Flynn, I. Franchi, M. Fries, Z. Gainsforth, J.-P. Gallien, M. Genge, M. Gilles, P. Gillet, J. Gilmour, D. Glavin, M. Gounelle, M. Grady, G. Graham, P. Grant, S. Green, F. Grossemy, L. Grossman, J. Grossman, Y. Guan, K. Hagiya, R. Harvey, P. Heck, G. Herzog, P. Hoppe, F. Hörz, I. D. Hutcheon, J. Huth, K. Ignatyev, H. Ishii, M. Ito, D. Jacob, C. Jacobsen, S. Jacobsen, S. Jones, D. Joswiak, A. Jurewicz, A. Kearsley, L. Keller, H. Khodja, A. Kilcoyne, J. Kissel, A. Krot, F. Langenhorst, A. Lanzirotti, L. Le, L. A. Leshin, J. Leitner, L. Lemelle, H. Leroux, M.-C. Liu, K. Luening, I. Lyon, G. MacPherson, M. Marcus, K. Marhas, B. Marty, G. Matrajt, K. D. McKeegan, A. Meibom, V. Mennella, K. Messenger, S. Messenger, T. Mikouchi, S. Mostefaoui, T. Nakamura, T. Nakano, M. Newville, L. Nittler, I. Ohnishi, K. Ohsumi, K. Okudaira, R. Palma, D. Papanastassiou, M. Palumbo, R. Pepin, D. Perkins, M. Perronnet, P. Pianetta, W. Rao, F. Rietmeijer, F. Robert, D. Rost, A. Rotundi, R. Ryan, S. Sandford, D. Schlutter, C. Schwandt, T. See, J. Sheffield-Parker, A. Simionovici, S. Simon, I. Sitnitsky, C. Snead, M. Spencer, F. J. Stadermann, A. Steele, T. Stephan, R. Stroud, J. Susini, S. Sutton, Y. Suzuki, M. Taheri, S. Taylor, N. Teslich, K. Tomeoka, N. Tomioka, A. Toppani, J. Trigo-Rodríguez, D. Troadec, A. Tsuchiyama, A. Tuzzolino, T. Tyliszczak, K. Uesugi, M. Velbel, J. Vellenga, E. Vicenzi, L. Vincze, J. Warren, I. Weber, M. Weisberg, A. Westphal, S. Wirick, D. Wooden, B. Wopenka, P. Wozniakiewicz, I. Wright, H. Yabuta, H. Yano, E. Young, R. Zare, T. Zega, K. Ziegler, L. Zimmermann, E. Zinner, M. Zolensky, 2006. Comet 81P/Wild 2 Under a Microscope. Science 314, 1711-1716.
DOI
10.1126/science.1135840
Link to Publisher Version (DOI)
Publisher's Copyright and Source
Copyright © 2006 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Article published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Science, volume 314, issue number 5806, December 15, 2006, pages 1711-1716. Available online: http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1135840.
