Dust Measurements in the Coma of Comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Dust Flux Monitor Instrument
Dust Measurements in the Coma of Comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Dust Flux Monitor Instrument
复制标题
使用尘埃通量监测仪测量彗星 81P/Wild 2 彗发中的尘埃
作者：
A. Tuzzolino;T. Economou;B. Clark;P. Tsou;D. Brownlee;S. Green;J. McDonnell;N. Mcbride;M. T. S. H. Colwell
我们展示了星尘尘埃通量监测仪 (DFMI) 在 81P/Wild 2 号彗星飞越过程中对尘埃粒子通量和质量分布的测量结果。在 10-14 到 10-7 千克的粒子质量范围内，航天器遇到了强烈的粒子群区域，以及与直径只有几百米的粒子云相对应的活动爆发。这种精细结构可以用粒子破碎来解释。我们估计有 2800 ± 500 个直径为 15 微米或更大的颗粒影响了气凝胶收集器，最大的颗粒为 ∼6 × 10–7 千克，占收集总质量的主导地位。
We present measurements of the dust particle flux and mass distribution from the Stardust Dust Flux Monitor Instrument (DFMI) throughout the flyby of comet 81P/Wild 2. In the particle mass regime from 10–14 to 10–7 kilograms, the spacecraft encountered regions of intense swarms of particles, together with bursts of activity corresponding to clouds of particles only a few hundred meters across. This fine-scale structure can be explained by particle fragmentation. We estimate that 2800 ± 500 particles of diameter 15 micrometers or larger impacted the aerogel collectors, the largest being ∼6 × 10–7 kilograms, which dominates the total collected mass.