Mineralogy and Petrology of Comet 81P/Wild 2 Nucleus Samples
Abstract
The bulk of the comet 81P/Wild 2 (hereafter Wild 2) samples returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft appear to be weakly constructed mixtures of nanometer-scale grains, with occasional much larger (over 1 micrometer) ferromagnesian silicates, Fe-Ni sulfides, Fe-Ni metal, and accessory phases. The very wide range of olivine and low-Ca pyroxene compositions in comet Wild 2 requires a wide range of formation conditions, probably reflecting very different formation locations in the protoplanetary disk. The restricted compositional ranges of Fe-Ni sulfides, the wide range for silicates, and the absence of hydrous phases indicate that comet Wild 2 experienced little or no aqueous alteration. Less abundant Wild 2 materials include a refractory particle, whose presence appears to require radial transport in the early protoplanetary disk.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Dec 15, 2006
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.1135842
Entities
People
- Adrian Brearley
- Akira Tsuchiyama
- Alexander N. Krot
- Alexandre Simionovici
- Alice Toppani
- Anders Meibom
- Andrew J. Westphal
- Anna L. Butterworth
- Anton T. Kearsley
- Antonio Lanzirotti
- Benton Clark
- Christopher J. Snead
- Damien Jacob
- David Joswiak
- Denton S. Ebel
- Dimitri A. Papanastassiou
- Donald E. Brownlee
- Falko Langenhorst
- François Robert
- Frank J. Stadermann
- Frans J. M. Rietmeijer
- George Flynn
- Giles A. Graham
- Graciela Matrajt
- Hajime Yano
- Hope Ishii
- Hugues Leroux
- Ichiro Ohnishi
- Iris Weber
- Jack L. Warren
- Jean Susini
- Jeffrey N. Grossman
- John C. Bridges
- John P. Bradley
- Kazumasa Ohsumi
- Kazushige Tomeoka
- Keiko Nakamura-messenger
- Kenji Hagiya
- Kyoko Okudaira
- Laurence Lemelle
- Lawrence I. Grossman
- Lindsay P. Keller
- Loan Le
- Matthew A. Marcus
- Matthew J. Genge
- Matthieu Gounelle
- Miaofang Chi
- Michael A. Velbel
- Michael E. Zolensky
- Mike K. Weisberg
- Mitra L. Taheri
- Murielle C. Perronnet
- Naotaka Tomioka
- Nick Teslich
- Patrick Cordier
- Peter Tsou
- Phil A. Bland
- Philippe Gillet
- Pierre Bleuet
- Ralph Harvey
- Rhonda Stroud
- Ron Bastien
- Sean Brennan
- Smail Mostefaoui
- Steven B. Simon
- Stewart Fallon
- Sue Wirick
- Takashi Mikouchi
- Thomas H. See
- Thomas J. Zega
- Thomas Stephan
- Tomoki Nakamura
- Tristan Ferroir
- William Rao
- Zu Rong Dai
Organizations
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
- United States Naval Research Laboratory
- University of California