Images of Asteroid 21 Lutetia: A Remnant Planetesimal from the Early Solar System
Holger Sierks
(1)
,
Philippe Lamy
(2)
,
Cesare Barbieri
(3, 4)
,
Detlef Koschny
(5)
,
Hans Rickman
(6)
,
Rafael Rodrigo
(7)
,
Michael F. A'Hearn
(8)
,
F. Angrilli
(3, 9)
,
M. Antonella Barucci
(10, 11)
,
Jean-Loup Bertaux
(12)
,
Ivano Bertini
(3)
,
Sebastien Besse
(8)
,
B. Carry
(13)
,
Gabriele Cremonese
(3, 14)
,
Vania da Deppo
(3)
,
Björn Davidsson
(6)
,
Stefano Debei
(3, 9)
,
Mariolino de Cecco
(4)
,
J. de Leon
(7)
,
Francesca Ferri
(3)
,
Sonia Fornasier
(10)
,
Marco Fulle
(15)
,
S. F. Hviid
(1)
,
Robert W. Gaskell
(16)
,
Olivier Groussin
(2)
,
Pedro J. Gutiérrez
(7)
,
Wing-Huen Ip
(17)
,
Laurent Jorda
(2)
,
M. Kaasalainen
(18)
,
Horst Uwe Keller
(19)
,
Jörg Knollenberg
(20)
,
Rainer Kramm
(1)
,
Ekkehard Kührt
(20)
,
Michael Küppers
(13)
,
Luisa M. Lara
(7)
,
Monica Lazzarin
(4)
,
C. Leyrat
(10)
,
José J. Lopez Moreno
(7)
,
Sara Magrin
(4)
,
S. Marchi
(3, 21)
,
Francesco Marzari
(22, 4)
,
Matteo Massironi
(3)
,
Harald Michalik
(23)
,
R. Moissl
(1)
,
Giampiero Naletto
(3)
,
Frank Preusker
(20)
,
L. Sabau
(24)
,
W. Sabolo
(7)
,
Frank Scholten
(20)
,
C. Snodgrass
(1)
,
Nicolas Thomas
(25)
,
Cecilia Tubiana
(1)
,
P. Vernazza
(2)
,
Jean-Baptiste Vincent
(1)
,
K.-P. Wenzel
(5)
,
T. Andert
(26)
,
M. Pätzold
(27)
,
B. P. Weiss
(28)
1
MPS -
Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung = Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
2 LAM - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
3 CISAS - Centro di Ateneo di Studi e Attività Spaziali “Giuseppe Colombo”
4 Dipartimento di Astronomia [Padova]
5 ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre
6 Department of Physics and Astronomy [Uppsala]
7 IAA - Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía
8 Department of Astronomy [College Park]
9 Department of Industrial Engineering [Padova]
10 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
11 OP - Observatoire de Paris - Site de Paris
12 PLANETO - LATMOS
13 ESAC - European Space Astronomy Centre
14 OAPD - INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
15 OAT - INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste
16 PSI - Planetary Science Institute [Tucson]
17 Institute of Space Science [Taiwan]
18 Department of Mathematics [Tampere]
19 IGEP - Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik [Braunschweig]
20 DLR Institut für Planetenforschung
21 OCA - Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur
22 Dipartimento di Fisica [Padova]
23 Institut für Datentechnik und Kommunikationsnetze
24 INTA - Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial
25 Physikalisches Institut [Bern]
26 Institut für Raumfahrttechnik
27 Universität zu Köln = University of Cologne
28 USPC - Université Sorbonne Paris Cité
2 LAM - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
3 CISAS - Centro di Ateneo di Studi e Attività Spaziali “Giuseppe Colombo”
4 Dipartimento di Astronomia [Padova]
5 ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre
6 Department of Physics and Astronomy [Uppsala]
7 IAA - Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía
8 Department of Astronomy [College Park]
9 Department of Industrial Engineering [Padova]
10 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
11 OP - Observatoire de Paris - Site de Paris
12 PLANETO - LATMOS
13 ESAC - European Space Astronomy Centre
14 OAPD - INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova
15 OAT - INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste
16 PSI - Planetary Science Institute [Tucson]
17 Institute of Space Science [Taiwan]
18 Department of Mathematics [Tampere]
19 IGEP - Institut für Geophysik und Extraterrestrische Physik [Braunschweig]
20 DLR Institut für Planetenforschung
21 OCA - Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur
22 Dipartimento di Fisica [Padova]
23 Institut für Datentechnik und Kommunikationsnetze
24 INTA - Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial
25 Physikalisches Institut [Bern]
26 Institut für Raumfahrttechnik
27 Universität zu Köln = University of Cologne
28 USPC - Université Sorbonne Paris Cité
Cesare Barbieri
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 757032
- ORCID : 0000-0002-6257-9076
B. Carry
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 759634
- ORCID : 0000-0001-5242-3089
- IdRef : 142621641
Vania da Deppo
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 763247
- ORCID : 0000-0001-6273-8738
Wing-Huen Ip
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 770404
- ORCID : 0000-0001-5368-386X
Laurent Jorda
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 746464
- IdHAL : laurent-jorda
- ORCID : 0000-0001-8735-3308
- IdRef : 180975161
Michael Küppers
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 757030
- ORCID : 0000-0002-5666-8582
S. Marchi
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 801836
- ORCID : 0000-0003-2548-3291
Giampiero Naletto
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 773093
- ORCID : 0000-0003-2007-3138
Nicolas Thomas
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 757031
- ORCID : 0000-0002-0146-0071
P. Vernazza
- Fonction : Auteur
- PersonId : 738592
- IdHAL : pierre-vernazza
- ORCID : 0000-0002-2564-6743
- IdRef : 112732976
Résumé
Images obtained by the Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) cameras onboard the Rosetta spacecraft reveal that asteroid 21 Lutetia has a complex geology and one of the highest asteroid densities measured so far, 3.4 ± 0.3 grams per cubic centimeter. The north pole region is covered by a thick layer of regolith, which is seen to flow in major landslides associated with albedo variation. Its geologically complex surface, ancient surface age, and high density suggest that Lutetia is most likely a primordial planetesimal. This contrasts with smaller asteroids visited by previous spacecraft, which are probably shattered bodies, fragments of larger parents, or reaccumulated rubble piles.