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Modeling the Nucleus and Jets of Comet 81P/Wild 2 Based on the Stardust Encounter Data
Zdenek Sekanina,1*Donald E. Brownlee,2Thanasis E. Economou,3Anthony J. Tuzzolino,3Simon F. Green4
We interpret the nucleus properties and jet activity from theStardust spacecraft imaging and the onboard dust monitoringsystem data. Triangulation of 20 jets shows that 2 emanate fromthe nucleus dark side and 16 emanate from sources that are onslopes where the Sun's elevation is greater than predicted fromthe fitted triaxial ellipsoid. Seven sources, including fivein the Mayo depression, coincide with relatively bright surfacespots. Fitting the imaged jets, the spikelike temporal distributionof dust impacts indicates that the spacecraft crossed thin,densely populated sheets of particulate ejecta extending fromsmall sources on the rotating nucleus, consistent with an emissioncone model.
1 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA. 2 Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. 3 Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research, Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 933 East 56th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. 4 Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: zs{at}sek.jpl.nasa.gov
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