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Rosetta finds exposed water ice on comet

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nativechick1996
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« on: July 05, 2015, 03:53:52 am »

Rosetta finds exposed water ice on comet
Posted on Sunday, 28 June, 2015


The Rosetta spacecraft has identified patches of water ice. Image Credit: CC BY-3.0 DLR
The Rosetta spacecraft has found what appears to be patches of ice on the surface of comet 67P.
The probe, which became the first spacecraft in history to go in to orbit around a comet when it arrived in August of last year, has already returned a wealth of information as part of its ongoing efforts to conduct the most detailed study of a comet ever undertaken.

Now scientists have revealed that the probe has recorded images of what appear to be patches of exposed water ice on the comet's surface. The patches are located in shaded areas where they are protected from the sun's heat and appear ten times brighter than the surrounding rock.


Further confirmation should be obtainable once the comet reaches its closest approach to the sun.

"As the comet continues to approach perihelion, the increase in solar illumination onto the bright patches that were once in shadow should cause changes in their appearance, and we may expect to see new and even larger regions of exposed ice," said project scientist Matt Taylor.

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/63436/20150625/rosetta-spacecraft-detects-patches-of-possible-exposed-water-ice-on-comets-surface.htm
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nativechick1996
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« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2015, 03:55:51 am »

I guess that is hardly surprising since comets have long been thought to be composed of ice, dust and rock. It is really cool to be able to get back data from the comet.
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Behold, I am Death, Destroyer of Worlds
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« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2015, 04:12:45 am »

Yes, but it is generally expected that they would be in a mixture. What has been discovered are areas of pure ice on the surface. This has not been observed before.
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the Joker
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« Reply #3 on: July 05, 2015, 04:21:55 am »

The comet has been outgassing, correct? Perhaps the mixture elements separate upon being released then some of the water vapor re-freezes as water ice and falls back. I'm picturing a tea kettle with a whistling feature. Once boiling pressure is achieved and the spout begins to whistle, looking closely would reveal two things; a stream of steam cleaning blowing out and away but around the nozzle, little sputters and spatters of already re-condensing/ed water would be present. Maybe a similar kind of thing occurs at jet openings under the right conditions.
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Crimson Glory
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« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2015, 04:27:19 am »

Rosetta Spacecraft Detects Patches Of Possible Exposed Frozen Water On Comet's Surface

By Jim Algar, Tech Times | June 25, 2:43 PM

Icy patches on Comet 67P

A European Space Agency comet probe captures images of bright spots on the surface of Comet 76P. All evidence points to it being water ice, they suggest.
(Photo : ESA)

The European Space Agency says its Rosetta spacecraft circling Comet 67P has detected more than 100 patches of what may be water ice exposed on the comet's surface.

Analysis of gases being emitted by comets as they approach the sun and are warmed has shown they are rich in ice.

Researchers have used images from the high-resolution science camera on Rosetta to conduct an analysis of bright patches of exposed ice on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

In images captured by Rosetta's OSIRIS camera, scientists have been able to identify 120 different spots on the comet's surface as much as 10 times brighter than the average surface brightness, they report in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The bright areas are all seen in areas with shadows, such as below cliffs, where any patches of surface ice could be protected from sunlight, they say.

While they acknowledge they cannot definitively say the areas are water ice, all the evidence points to that as the most likely explanation, researchers say.

"At the time of our observations, the comet was far enough from the Sun such that the rate at which water ice would sublimate (turn to gas) would have been less than one mm per hour of incident solar energy," study lead author Antoine Pommerol explains.

"By contrast, if carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide ice had been exposed, it would have rapidly sublimated when illuminated by the same amount of sunlight. Thus we would not expect to see that type of ice stable on the surface at this time."

Some of the bright patches are grouped in clusters, the scientists say, while others are more isolated. At visible wavelengths, the patches are bluer in color compared with the comet's generally reddish background, consistent with their having an icy component, the researchers say.

As the comet continues on its voyage toward perihelion — its closest approach to the sun — further confirmation of the patches and what they're made of could be forthcoming, they say.

"As the comet continues to approach perihelion, the increase in solar illumination onto the bright patches that were once in shadow should cause changes in their appearance, and we may expect to see new and even larger regions of exposed ice," says Rosetta project scientist Matt Taylor.

Rosetta's science mission was scheduled to terminate in December of this year, but the ESA has announced it is extending it through September 2016.

 http://www.techtimes.com/articles/63436/20150625/rosetta-spacecraft-detects-patches-of-possible-exposed-water-ice-on-comets-surface.htm
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Crimson Glory
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« Reply #5 on: July 05, 2015, 04:28:38 am »



A European Space Agency comet probe captures images of bright spots on the surface of Comet 76P. All evidence points to it being water ice, they suggest.
(Photo : ESA)
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Crimson Glory
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« Reply #6 on: July 05, 2015, 04:30:24 am »

Welcome to the forum, by the way, nativechick1996!  Smiley
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