Dust measurements in the coma of comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Dust Flux Monitor Instrument.
We present measurements of the dust particle flux and mass distribution from the Stardust Dust Flux Monitor Instrument (DFMI) throughout the flyby of comet 81P/Wild 2. In the particle mass regime from 10(-14) to 10(-7) kilograms, the spacecraft encountered regions of intense swarms of particles, together with bursts of activity corresponding to clouds of particles only a few hundred meters across. This fine-scale structure can be explained by particle fragmentation. We estimate that 2800 +/- 500 particles of diameter 15 micrometers or larger impacted the aerogel collectors, the largest being approximately 6 x 10(-7) kilograms, which dominates the total collected mass.
Tuzzolino
Anthony J
AJ
Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research, Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, 933 East 56th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Economou
Thanasis E
TE
Clark
Ben C
BC
Tsou
Peter
P
Brownlee
Donald E
DE
Green
Simon F
SF
McDonnell
J A M
JA
McBride
Neil
N
Colwell
Melusine T S H
MT
D019443:Cosmic Dust; D005740:Gases; D019110:Meteoroids; D018531:Spacecraft
D019443:Cosmic Dust; D005740:Gases