Workshop on Origin
and Early Evolution of
Comet Nuclei
The International Space Science Institute, ISSI is sponsoring a
workshop on the Origin and Early
Evolution of Comet Nuclei. The workshop brings together
representatives of several scientific communities in the fields of
interstellar clouds, star-forming regions, the solar nebula, and
comets. The intent is to formulate the current understanding and
interconnectivity of the various source regions of comet nuclei and
their associated compositions and orbital characteristics. The
goal is to better understand the survival of cometary materials
(grains, molecules, free radicals, and atoms) from extrasolar sources
(circumstellar shells and molecular clouds), their modifications in the
solar nebula, and the effects of their properties on the formation and
early physical and thermal evolution of the macroscopic bodies, the
comet nuclei, in the various subnebulae. Closely associated is
their transport into the outer solar system, the Kuiper belt and Oort
cloud. The distinction between direct measurements, in situ or by
remote sensing, of cometary material properties and properties derived
from indirect means, deduced from laboratory studies and theoretical
deductions, will be emphasized to guide future investigations.
Program (PDF)
List of Participants (PDF)
Publication Plan
Pictures taken by H. Balsiger (Speakers & Convenors)
Pictures taken by S. Saliba