Captured by the color filters of Osiris instrument Rosetta images suggest the presence of ice on the neck of Comet 67P / Churyumov-Gerasimenko, called Hapi region, reported yesterday by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) from based in Göttingen.
The images studied by computer scientists Osiris show that comet neck -habitual reflects red light in the nuclei of comets and other primitive bodies such as asteroids less effectively than most other regions, so its appearance is slightly blue
In addition, in recent months, this area was particularly active. many of the sources of dust and gas the comet launched into space, originate there.
In this sense, studying the reflectance characteristics of the comet’s surface, scientists confirmed that the Hapi region is unique and that his blue coloration could indicate the presence of water ice mixed with dust from the surface.
“While color variations on the surface of 67P are small, can give us important clues” says Holger Sierks, head of Osiris team.
According to Sonia Fornasier, the Paris Observatory and member of the Osiris team, we know that “reflectance characteristics are directly concerned with the morphology of the surface.”
The ship Rosetta is equipped with additional tools to identify directly the presence of ice on the surface, as Osiris color filters can only represent a limited range of wavelengths. Thus the Virtis spectrometer, for example, can clearly identify the spectral fingerprints of water molecules.
“We are very curious to see if our cues from these measurements are confirmed,” says Sierks.
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