Abstract
The ESA Cometary Environment Model is applied to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (C-G). From observed gas and dust production rates the model allows us to determine the conditions in the inner coma of a comet. Assuming a spherical nucleus and an axis symmetric surface activity, the densities and velocities of the gas and of dust particles are calculated as functions of location in the coma. The model is also used to estimate the infrared and visible radiation received by an observer inside the coma due to dust. Observational data for the activity of 67P/C–G are available mainly from the apparitions in 1982/83 and 2002/03. For an insolation-driven activity model corresponding to a homogenous surface composition, the results for 67P/C-G are compared to those obtained earlier for P/Wirtanen. In order to derive an upper limit for the local densities inside a jet, a Gaussian activity profile centred at the subsolar point is considered.
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Agarwal, J., Müller, M., Grün, E. (2004). Modelling the Environment of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In: Colangeli, L., Epifani, E.M., Palumbo, P. (eds) The New Rosetta Targets. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 311. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2573-0_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2573-0_15
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