Comet 81P/wild 2 under a microscope

Don Brownlee; Peter Tsou; Jérôme Aléon; Conel M. O'D Alexander; Tohru Araki; Sasa Bajt; Giuseppe A. Baratta; Ron Bastien; Phil Bland; Pierre Bleuet; Janet Borg; John P. Bradley; Adrian Brearley; F. Brenker; Sean Brennan; John C. Bridges; Nigel D. Browning; John R. Brucato; E. Bullock; Mark J. Burchell; Henner Busemann; Anna Butterworth; Marc Chaussidon; Allan Cheuvront; Miaofang Chi; Mark J. Cintala; B. C. Clark; Simon J. Clemett; George Cody; Luigi Colangeli; George Cooper; Patrick Cordier; C. Daghlian; Zurong Dai; Louis D'Hendecourt; Zahia Djouadi; Gerardo Dominguez; Tom Duxbury; Jason P. Dworkin; Denton S. Ebel; Thanasis E. Economou; Sirine Fakra; Sam A.J. Fairey; Stewart Fallon; Gianluca Ferrini; T. Ferroir; Holger Fleckenstein; Christine Floss; George Flynn; Ian A. Franchi; Marc Fries; Z. Gainsforth; J. P. Gallien; Matt Genge; Mary K. Gilles; Philipe Gillet; Jamie Gilmour; Daniel P. Glavin; Matthieu Gounelle; Monica M. Grady; Giles A. Graham; P. G. Grant; Simon F. Green; Faustine Grossemy; Lawrence Grossman; Jeffrey N. Grossman; Yunbin Guan; Kenji Hagiya; Ralph Harvey; Philipp Heck; Gregory F. Herzog; Peter Hoppe; Friedrich Hörz; Joachim Huth; Ian D. Hutcheon; Konstantin Ignatyev; Hope Ishii; Motoo Ito; Damien Jacob; Chris Jacobsen; Stein Jacobsen; Steven Jones; David Joswiak; Amy Jurewicz; Anton T. Kearsley; Lindsay P. Keller; H. Khodja; A. L.David Kilcoyne; Jochen Kissel; Alexander Krot; Falko Langenhorst; Antonio Lanzirotti; Loan Le; Laurie A. Leshin; J. Leitner; L. Lemelle; Hugues Leroux; Ming Chang Liu; K. Luening; Ian Lyon; Glen MacPherson; Matthew A. Marcus; Kuljeet Marhas; Bernard Marty; Graciela Matrajt; Kevin McKeegan; Anders Meibom; Vito Mennella; Keiko Messenger; Scott Messenger; Takashi Mikouchi; Smail Mostefaoui; Tomoki Nakamura; T. Nakano; M. Newville; Larry R. Nittler; Ichiro Ohnishi; Kazumasa Ohsumi; Kyoko Okudaira; Dimitri A. Papanastassiou; Russ Palma; Maria E. Palumbo; Robert O. Pepin; David Perkins; Murielle Perronnet; P. Pianetta; William Rao; Frans J.M. Rietmeijer; François Robert; D. Rost; Alessandra Rotundi; Robert Ryan; Scott A. Sandford; Craig S. Schwandt; Thomas H. See; Dennis Schlutter; J. Sheffield-Parker; Alexandre Simionovici; Steven Simon; I. Sitnitsky; Christopher J. Snead; Maegan K. Spencer; Frank J. Stadermann; Andrew Steele; Thomas Stephan; Rhonda Stroud; Jean Susini; S. R. Sutton; Y. Suzuki; Mitra Taheri; Susan Taylor; Nick Teslich; Kazu Tomeoka; Naotaka Tomioka; Alice Toppani; Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez; David Troadec; Akira Tsuchiyama; Anthony J. Tuzzolino; Tolek Tyliszczak; K. Uesugi; Michael Velbel; Joe Vellenga; E. Vicenzi; L. Vincze; Jack Warren; Iris Weber; Mike Weisberg; Andrew J. Westphal; Sue Wirick; Diana Wooden; Brigitte Wopenka; Penelope Wozniakiewicz; Ian Wright; Hikaru Yabuta; Hajime Yano; Edward D. Young; Richard N. Zare; Thomas Zega; Karen Ziegler; Laurent Zimmerman; Ernst Zinner; Michael Zolensky

doi:10.1126/science.1135840

Comet 81P/wild 2 under a microscope

Don Brownlee^*, Peter Tsou, Jérôme Aléon, Conel M. O'D Alexander, Tohru Araki, Sasa Bajt, Giuseppe A. Baratta, Ron Bastien, Phil Bland, Pierre Bleuet, Janet Borg, John P. Bradley, Adrian Brearley, F. Brenker, Sean Brennan, John C. Bridges, Nigel D. Browning, John R. Brucato, E. Bullock, Mark J. BurchellHenner Busemann, Anna Butterworth, Marc Chaussidon, Allan Cheuvront, Miaofang Chi, Mark J. Cintala, B. C. Clark, Simon J. Clemett, George Cody, Luigi Colangeli, George Cooper, Patrick Cordier, C. Daghlian, Zurong Dai, Louis D'Hendecourt, Zahia Djouadi, Gerardo Dominguez, Tom Duxbury, Jason P. Dworkin, Denton S. Ebel, Thanasis E. Economou, Sirine Fakra, Sam A.J. Fairey, Stewart Fallon, Gianluca Ferrini, T. Ferroir, Holger Fleckenstein, Christine Floss, George Flynn, Ian A. Franchi, Marc Fries, Z. Gainsforth, J. P. Gallien, Matt Genge, Mary K. Gilles, Philipe Gillet, Jamie Gilmour, Daniel P. Glavin, Matthieu Gounelle, Monica M. Grady, Giles A. Graham, P. G. Grant, Simon F. Green, Faustine Grossemy, Lawrence Grossman, Jeffrey N. Grossman, Yunbin Guan, Kenji Hagiya, Ralph Harvey, Philipp Heck, Gregory F. Herzog, Peter Hoppe, Friedrich Hörz, Joachim Huth, Ian D. Hutcheon, Konstantin Ignatyev, Hope Ishii, Motoo Ito, Damien Jacob, Chris Jacobsen, Stein Jacobsen, Steven Jones, David Joswiak, Amy Jurewicz, Anton T. Kearsley, Lindsay P. Keller, H. Khodja, A. L.David Kilcoyne, Jochen Kissel, Alexander Krot, Falko Langenhorst, Antonio Lanzirotti, Loan Le, Laurie A. Leshin, J. Leitner, L. Lemelle, Hugues Leroux, Ming Chang Liu, K. Luening, Ian Lyon, Glen MacPherson, Matthew A. Marcus, Kuljeet Marhas, Bernard Marty, Graciela Matrajt, Kevin McKeegan, Anders Meibom, Vito Mennella, Keiko Messenger, Scott Messenger, Takashi Mikouchi, Smail Mostefaoui, Tomoki Nakamura, T. Nakano, M. Newville, Larry R. Nittler, Ichiro Ohnishi, Kazumasa Ohsumi, Kyoko Okudaira, Dimitri A. Papanastassiou, Russ Palma, Maria E. Palumbo, Robert O. Pepin, David Perkins, Murielle Perronnet, P. Pianetta, William Rao, Frans J.M. Rietmeijer, François Robert, D. Rost, Alessandra Rotundi, Robert Ryan, Scott A. Sandford, Craig S. Schwandt, Thomas H. See, Dennis Schlutter, J. Sheffield-Parker, Alexandre Simionovici, Steven Simon, I. Sitnitsky, Christopher J. Snead, Maegan K. Spencer, Frank J. Stadermann, Andrew Steele, Thomas Stephan, Rhonda Stroud, Jean Susini, S. R. Sutton, Y. Suzuki, Mitra Taheri, Susan Taylor, Nick Teslich, Kazu Tomeoka, Naotaka Tomioka, Alice Toppani, Josep M. Trigo-Rodríguez, David Troadec, Akira Tsuchiyama, Anthony J. Tuzzolino, Tolek Tyliszczak, K. Uesugi, Michael Velbel, Joe Vellenga, E. Vicenzi, L. Vincze, Jack Warren, Iris Weber, Mike Weisberg, Andrew J. Westphal, Sue Wirick, Diana Wooden, Brigitte Wopenka, Penelope Wozniakiewicz, Ian Wright, Hikaru Yabuta, Hajime Yano, Edward D. Young, Richard N. Zare, Thomas Zega, Karen Ziegler, Laurent Zimmerman, Ernst Zinner, Michael Zolensky

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

781 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1711-1716
Number of pages	6
Journal	Science
Volume	314
Issue number	5806
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1135840
Publication status	Published - 15 Dec 2006
Externally published	Yes

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10.1126/science.1135840

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Brownlee, D., Tsou, P., Aléon, J., O'D Alexander, C. M., Araki, T., Bajt, S., Baratta, G. A., Bastien, R., Bland, P., Bleuet, P., Borg, J., Bradley, J. P., Brearley, A., Brenker, F., Brennan, S., Bridges, J. C., Browning, N. D., Brucato, J. R., Bullock, E., ... Zolensky, M. (2006). Comet 81P/wild 2 under a microscope. Science, 314(5806), 1711-1716. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1135840

@article{ddb7147fb8a349d6a53e6aaccac92950,

title = "Comet 81P/wild 2 under a microscope",

abstract = "The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.",

author = "Don Brownlee and Peter Tsou and J{\'e}r{\^o}me Al{\'e}on and {O'D Alexander}, {Conel M.} and Tohru Araki and Sasa Bajt and Baratta, {Giuseppe A.} and Ron Bastien and Phil Bland and Pierre Bleuet and Janet Borg and Bradley, {John P.} and Adrian Brearley and F. Brenker and Sean Brennan and Bridges, {John C.} and Browning, {Nigel D.} and Brucato, {John R.} and E. Bullock and Burchell, {Mark J.} and Henner Busemann and Anna Butterworth and Marc Chaussidon and Allan Cheuvront and Miaofang Chi and Cintala, {Mark J.} and Clark, {B. C.} and Clemett, {Simon J.} and George Cody and Luigi Colangeli and George Cooper and Patrick Cordier and C. Daghlian and Zurong Dai and Louis D'Hendecourt and Zahia Djouadi and Gerardo Dominguez and Tom Duxbury and Dworkin, {Jason P.} and Ebel, {Denton S.} and Economou, {Thanasis E.} and Sirine Fakra and Fairey, {Sam A.J.} and Stewart Fallon and Gianluca Ferrini and T. Ferroir and Holger Fleckenstein and Christine Floss and George Flynn and Franchi, {Ian A.} and Marc Fries and Z. Gainsforth and Gallien, {J. P.} and Matt Genge and Gilles, {Mary K.} and Philipe Gillet and Jamie Gilmour and Glavin, {Daniel P.} and Matthieu Gounelle and Grady, {Monica M.} and Graham, {Giles A.} and Grant, {P. G.} and Green, {Simon F.} and Faustine Grossemy and Lawrence Grossman and Grossman, {Jeffrey N.} and Yunbin Guan and Kenji Hagiya and Ralph Harvey and Philipp Heck and Herzog, {Gregory F.} and Peter Hoppe and Friedrich H{\"o}rz and Joachim Huth and Hutcheon, {Ian D.} and Konstantin Ignatyev and Hope Ishii and Motoo Ito and Damien Jacob and Chris Jacobsen and Stein Jacobsen and Steven Jones and David Joswiak and Amy Jurewicz and Kearsley, {Anton T.} and Keller, {Lindsay P.} and H. Khodja and Kilcoyne, {A. L.David} and Jochen Kissel and Alexander Krot and Falko Langenhorst and Antonio Lanzirotti and Loan Le and Leshin, {Laurie A.} and J. Leitner and L. Lemelle and Hugues Leroux and Liu, {Ming Chang} and K. Luening and Ian Lyon and Glen MacPherson and Marcus, {Matthew A.} and Kuljeet Marhas and Bernard Marty and Graciela Matrajt and Kevin McKeegan and Anders Meibom and Vito Mennella and Keiko Messenger and Scott Messenger and Takashi Mikouchi and Smail Mostefaoui and Tomoki Nakamura and T. Nakano and M. Newville and Nittler, {Larry R.} and Ichiro Ohnishi and Kazumasa Ohsumi and Kyoko Okudaira and Papanastassiou, {Dimitri A.} and Russ Palma and Palumbo, {Maria E.} and Pepin, {Robert O.} and David Perkins and Murielle Perronnet and P. Pianetta and William Rao and Rietmeijer, {Frans J.M.} and Fran{\c c}ois Robert and D. Rost and Alessandra Rotundi and Robert Ryan and Sandford, {Scott A.} and Schwandt, {Craig S.} and See, {Thomas H.} and Dennis Schlutter and J. Sheffield-Parker and Alexandre Simionovici and Steven Simon and I. Sitnitsky and Snead, {Christopher J.} and Spencer, {Maegan K.} and Stadermann, {Frank J.} and Andrew Steele and Thomas Stephan and Rhonda Stroud and Jean Susini and Sutton, {S. R.} and Y. Suzuki and Mitra Taheri and Susan Taylor and Nick Teslich and Kazu Tomeoka and Naotaka Tomioka and Alice Toppani and Trigo-Rodr{\'i}guez, {Josep M.} and David Troadec and Akira Tsuchiyama and Tuzzolino, {Anthony J.} and Tolek Tyliszczak and K. Uesugi and Michael Velbel and Joe Vellenga and E. Vicenzi and L. Vincze and Jack Warren and Iris Weber and Mike Weisberg and Westphal, {Andrew J.} and Sue Wirick and Diana Wooden and Brigitte Wopenka and Penelope Wozniakiewicz and Ian Wright and Hikaru Yabuta and Hajime Yano and Young, {Edward D.} and Zare, {Richard N.} and Thomas Zega and Karen Ziegler and Laurent Zimmerman and Ernst Zinner and Michael Zolensky",

year = "2006",

month = dec,

day = "15",

doi = "10.1126/science.1135840",

language = "English",

volume = "314",

pages = "1711--1716",

journal = "Science",

issn = "0036-8075",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

number = "5806",

}

Brownlee, D, Tsou, P, Aléon, J, O'D Alexander, CM, Araki, T, Bajt, S, Baratta, GA, Bastien, R, Bland, P, Bleuet, P, Borg, J, Bradley, JP, Brearley, A, Brenker, F, Brennan, S, Bridges, JC, Browning, ND, Brucato, JR, Bullock, E, Burchell, MJ, Busemann, H, Butterworth, A, Chaussidon, M, Cheuvront, A, Chi, M, Cintala, MJ, Clark, BC, Clemett, SJ, Cody, G, Colangeli, L, Cooper, G, Cordier, P, Daghlian, C, Dai, Z, D'Hendecourt, L, Djouadi, Z, Dominguez, G, Duxbury, T, Dworkin, JP, Ebel, DS, Economou, TE, Fakra, S, Fairey, SAJ, Fallon, S, Ferrini, G, Ferroir, T, Fleckenstein, H, Floss, C, Flynn, G, Franchi, IA, Fries, M, Gainsforth, Z, Gallien, JP, Genge, M, Gilles, MK, Gillet, P, Gilmour, J, Glavin, DP, Gounelle, M, Grady, MM, Graham, GA, Grant, PG, Green, SF, Grossemy, F, Grossman, L, Grossman, JN, Guan, Y, Hagiya, K, Harvey, R, Heck, P, Herzog, GF, Hoppe, P, Hörz, F, Huth, J, Hutcheon, ID, Ignatyev, K, Ishii, H, Ito, M, Jacob, D, Jacobsen, C, Jacobsen, S, Jones, S, Joswiak, D, Jurewicz, A, Kearsley, AT, Keller, LP, Khodja, H, Kilcoyne, ALD, Kissel, J, Krot, A, Langenhorst, F, Lanzirotti, A, Le, L, Leshin, LA, Leitner, J, Lemelle, L, Leroux, H, Liu, MC, Luening, K, Lyon, I, MacPherson, G, Marcus, MA, Marhas, K, Marty, B, Matrajt, G, McKeegan, K, Meibom, A, Mennella, V, Messenger, K, Messenger, S, Mikouchi, T, Mostefaoui, S, Nakamura, T, Nakano, T, Newville, M, Nittler, LR, Ohnishi, I, Ohsumi, K, Okudaira, K, Papanastassiou, DA, Palma, R, Palumbo, ME, Pepin, RO, Perkins, D, Perronnet, M, Pianetta, P, Rao, W, Rietmeijer, FJM, Robert, F, Rost, D, Rotundi, A, Ryan, R, Sandford, SA, Schwandt, CS, See, TH, Schlutter, D, Sheffield-Parker, J, Simionovici, A, Simon, S, Sitnitsky, I, Snead, CJ, Spencer, MK, Stadermann, FJ, Steele, A, Stephan, T, Stroud, R, Susini, J, Sutton, SR, Suzuki, Y, Taheri, M, Taylor, S, Teslich, N, Tomeoka, K, Tomioka, N, Toppani, A, Trigo-Rodríguez, JM, Troadec, D, Tsuchiyama, A, Tuzzolino, AJ, Tyliszczak, T, Uesugi, K, Velbel, M, Vellenga, J, Vicenzi, E, Vincze, L, Warren, J, Weber, I, Weisberg, M, Westphal, AJ, Wirick, S, Wooden, D, Wopenka, B, Wozniakiewicz, P, Wright, I, Yabuta, H, Yano, H, Young, ED, Zare, RN, Zega, T, Ziegler, K, Zimmerman, L, Zinner, E & Zolensky, M 2006, 'Comet 81P/wild 2 under a microscope', Science, vol. 314, no. 5806, pp. 1711-1716. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1135840

TY - JOUR

T1 - Comet 81P/wild 2 under a microscope

AU - Brownlee, Don

AU - Tsou, Peter

AU - Aléon, Jérôme

AU - O'D Alexander, Conel M.

AU - Araki, Tohru

AU - Bajt, Sasa

AU - Baratta, Giuseppe A.

AU - Bastien, Ron

AU - Bland, Phil

AU - Bleuet, Pierre

AU - Borg, Janet

AU - Bradley, John P.

AU - Brearley, Adrian

AU - Brenker, F.

AU - Brennan, Sean

AU - Bridges, John C.

AU - Browning, Nigel D.

AU - Brucato, John R.

AU - Bullock, E.

AU - Burchell, Mark J.

AU - Busemann, Henner

AU - Butterworth, Anna

AU - Chaussidon, Marc

AU - Cheuvront, Allan

AU - Chi, Miaofang

AU - Cintala, Mark J.

AU - Clark, B. C.

AU - Clemett, Simon J.

AU - Cody, George

AU - Colangeli, Luigi

AU - Cooper, George

AU - Cordier, Patrick

AU - Daghlian, C.

AU - Dai, Zurong

AU - D'Hendecourt, Louis

AU - Djouadi, Zahia

AU - Dominguez, Gerardo

AU - Duxbury, Tom

AU - Dworkin, Jason P.

AU - Ebel, Denton S.

AU - Economou, Thanasis E.

AU - Fakra, Sirine

AU - Fairey, Sam A.J.

AU - Fallon, Stewart

AU - Ferrini, Gianluca

AU - Ferroir, T.

AU - Fleckenstein, Holger

AU - Floss, Christine

AU - Flynn, George

AU - Franchi, Ian A.

AU - Fries, Marc

AU - Gainsforth, Z.

AU - Gallien, J. P.

AU - Genge, Matt

AU - Gilles, Mary K.

AU - Gillet, Philipe

AU - Gilmour, Jamie

AU - Glavin, Daniel P.

AU - Gounelle, Matthieu

AU - Grady, Monica M.

AU - Graham, Giles A.

AU - Grant, P. G.

AU - Green, Simon F.

AU - Grossemy, Faustine

AU - Grossman, Lawrence

AU - Grossman, Jeffrey N.

AU - Guan, Yunbin

AU - Hagiya, Kenji

AU - Harvey, Ralph

AU - Heck, Philipp

AU - Herzog, Gregory F.

AU - Hoppe, Peter

AU - Hörz, Friedrich

AU - Huth, Joachim

AU - Hutcheon, Ian D.

AU - Ignatyev, Konstantin

AU - Ishii, Hope

AU - Ito, Motoo

AU - Jacob, Damien

AU - Jacobsen, Chris

AU - Jacobsen, Stein

AU - Jones, Steven

AU - Joswiak, David

AU - Jurewicz, Amy

AU - Kearsley, Anton T.

AU - Keller, Lindsay P.

AU - Khodja, H.

AU - Kilcoyne, A. L.David

AU - Kissel, Jochen

AU - Krot, Alexander

AU - Langenhorst, Falko

AU - Lanzirotti, Antonio

AU - Le, Loan

AU - Leshin, Laurie A.

AU - Leitner, J.

AU - Lemelle, L.

AU - Leroux, Hugues

AU - Liu, Ming Chang

AU - Luening, K.

AU - Lyon, Ian

AU - MacPherson, Glen

AU - Marcus, Matthew A.

AU - Marhas, Kuljeet

AU - Marty, Bernard

AU - Matrajt, Graciela

AU - McKeegan, Kevin

AU - Meibom, Anders

AU - Mennella, Vito

AU - Messenger, Keiko

AU - Messenger, Scott

AU - Mikouchi, Takashi

AU - Mostefaoui, Smail

AU - Nakamura, Tomoki

AU - Nakano, T.

AU - Newville, M.

AU - Nittler, Larry R.

AU - Ohnishi, Ichiro

AU - Ohsumi, Kazumasa

AU - Okudaira, Kyoko

AU - Papanastassiou, Dimitri A.

AU - Palma, Russ

AU - Palumbo, Maria E.

AU - Pepin, Robert O.

AU - Perkins, David

AU - Perronnet, Murielle

AU - Pianetta, P.

AU - Rao, William

AU - Rietmeijer, Frans J.M.

AU - Robert, François

AU - Rost, D.

AU - Rotundi, Alessandra

AU - Ryan, Robert

AU - Sandford, Scott A.

AU - Schwandt, Craig S.

AU - See, Thomas H.

AU - Schlutter, Dennis

AU - Sheffield-Parker, J.

AU - Simionovici, Alexandre

AU - Simon, Steven

AU - Sitnitsky, I.

AU - Snead, Christopher J.

AU - Spencer, Maegan K.

AU - Stadermann, Frank J.

AU - Steele, Andrew

AU - Stephan, Thomas

AU - Stroud, Rhonda

AU - Susini, Jean

AU - Sutton, S. R.

AU - Suzuki, Y.

AU - Taheri, Mitra

AU - Taylor, Susan

AU - Teslich, Nick

AU - Tomeoka, Kazu

AU - Tomioka, Naotaka

AU - Toppani, Alice

AU - Trigo-Rodríguez, Josep M.

AU - Troadec, David

AU - Tsuchiyama, Akira

AU - Tuzzolino, Anthony J.

AU - Tyliszczak, Tolek

AU - Uesugi, K.

AU - Velbel, Michael

AU - Vellenga, Joe

AU - Vicenzi, E.

AU - Vincze, L.

AU - Warren, Jack

AU - Weber, Iris

AU - Weisberg, Mike

AU - Westphal, Andrew J.

AU - Wirick, Sue

AU - Wooden, Diana

AU - Wopenka, Brigitte

AU - Wozniakiewicz, Penelope

AU - Wright, Ian

AU - Yabuta, Hikaru

AU - Yano, Hajime

AU - Young, Edward D.

AU - Zare, Richard N.

AU - Zega, Thomas

AU - Ziegler, Karen

AU - Zimmerman, Laurent

AU - Zinner, Ernst

AU - Zolensky, Michael

PY - 2006/12/15

Y1 - 2006/12/15

N2 - The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.

AB - The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33845685034&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1126/science.1135840

DO - 10.1126/science.1135840

M3 - Article

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 314

SP - 1711

EP - 1716

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 5806

ER -

Comet 81P/wild 2 under a microscope

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