Publications (16)
Impact of radiogenic heating on the formation conditions of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
O. Mousis, A. Drouard, P. Vernazza +19
Because of the high fraction of refractory material present in comets, the heat produced by the radiogenic decay of elements such as aluminium and iron can be high enough to induce…
Evidence of ammonium salts in comet 67P as explanation for the nitrogen depletion in cometary comae
K. Altwegg, H. Balsiger, J. -J. Berthelier +14
Cometary comae are generally depleted in nitrogen. The main carriers for volatile nitrogen in comets are NH3 and HCN. It is known that ammonia readily combines with many acids like…
A protosolar nebula origin for the ices agglomerated by Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
O. Mousis, J. I. Lunine, A. Luspay-Kuti +10
The nature of the icy material accreted by comets during their formation in the outer regions of the protosolar nebula is a major open question in planetary science. Some scenarios…
Evidence for depletion of heavy silicon isotopes at comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
M. Rubin, K. Altwegg, H. Balsiger +17
Context. The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) was designed to measure the composition of the gas in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, t…
Scientific rationale of Saturn's in situ exploration
O. Mousis, L. N. Fletcher, J. -P. Lebreton +47
Remote sensing observations meet some limitations when used to study the bulk atmospheric composition of the giant planets of our solar system. A remarkable example of the superior…
Cyanogen, cyanoacetylene, and acetonitrile in comet 67P and their relationship to the cyano radical
N. Hänni, K. Altwegg, H. Balsiger +6
The cyano radical (CN) is one of the most frequently remotely observed species in space, also in comets. Data from the high-resolution Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer (DFMS) on b…