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International Space Science Institute (ISSI)Hallerstrasse 6
3012 Bern
Switzerland

Phone +41 31 684 48 96
Email issi@issibern.ch

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67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

29. October 2024

Understanding the Activity of Comets Through 67P’s Dynamics

Comets are objects from the early Solar System made of a mixture of dust and ices. When heated by the Sun, the ices outgass, lifting dust (which forms the visible coma and tail) whilst also pushing on the comet nucleus in the opposite direction, changing its rotation and orbit.

This ISSI team gathered experts in cometary observations, trajectories, and thermophysical modelling to analyse comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s outgassing activity in order to improve our understanding of these ancient objects.

Image showing the deployment of the Philae lander to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The image of the comet was taken with the navigation camera on Rosetta (ESA/Rosetta/NavCam). Credits: ESA/ATG medialab; Comet image: ESA/Rosetta/Navcam