The 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko observation campaign in support of the Rosetta mission

Creators: Snodgrass, Colin; A'Hearn, Michael F.; Aceituno, Francisco; Afanasiev, Viktor; Bagnulo, Sefano; Bauer, J.; Bergond, G.; Besse, S.; Biver, Nicolas; Bodewits, Dennis; Boehnhardt, H.; Bonev, Boncho P.; Borisov, G.; Carry, Benoit; Casanova, V.; Cochran, A.; Conn, B. C.; Davidsson, Björn; Davies, J. K.; de León, J.; de Mooij, E.; de Val-Borro, Miguel; Delacruz, M.; Disanti, M. A.; Drew, J. E.; Duffard, René; Edberg, Niklas Jt; Faggi, S.; Feaga, L.; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Fujiwara, H.; Gibb, E. L.; Gillon, M.; Green, S. F.; Guijarro, A.; Guilbert-Lepoutre, Aurélie; Gutiérrez, Pedro J.; Hadamcik, Edith; Hainaut, Olivier; Haque, Shirin; Hedrosa, R.; Hines, Dean; Hopp, U.; Hoyo, F.; Hutsemékers, D.; Hyland, M.; Ivanova, O.; Jehin, E.; Jones, G. H.; Keane, J. V.; Kelley, M. S. P.; Kiselev, Nikolai; Kleyna, J.; Kluge, M.; Knight, Matthew M.; Kokotanekova, R.; Koschny, Detlef; Kramer, E.; Lopez-Moreno, Josè Juan; Lacerda, Pedro; Lara, Luisa M.; Lasue, Jérémie; Lehto, H. J.; Levasseur-Regourd, Anny Chantal; Licandro, Javier; Lin, Zhong-Yi; Lister, Tim; Lowry, Stephen C.; Mainzer, A.; Manfroid, Jean; Marchant, J.; Mckay, A. J.; Mcneill, A.; Meech, Karen J.; Micheli, Marco; Mohammed, Isa; Monguió, Maria; Moreno, Fernando; Muñoz, O.; Mumma, M. J.; Nikolov, P.; Opitom, Cyrielle; Ortiz, José Luis; Paganini, Lucas; Pajuelo, Myriam; Pozuelos, Francisco J.; Protopapa, Silvia; Pursimo, Tapio; Rajkumar, B.; Ramanjooloo, Yudish; Ries, Christoph; Riffeser, Arno; Rosenbush, Vera; Rousselot, Philippe; Ryan, Erin; Santos-Sanz, Pablo; Schleicher, David G.; Schmidt, M.; Schulz, R.; Sen, A. K.; Somero, A.; Sota, A.; Stinson, A.; Sunshine, Jessica M.; Thompson, A.; Tozzi, G. P.; Tubiana, Cécilia; Villanueva, G. L.; Wang, X.; Wooden, D. H.; Yagi, M.; Yang, Bin; Zaprudin, B.; Zegmott, T. J.

Others:: School of Physical Sciences [Milton Keynes] ; Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [Milton Keynes] ; The Open University [Milton Keynes] (OU)-The Open University [Milton Keynes] (OU); Department of Astronomy [College Park] ; University of Maryland [College Park] ; University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA) ; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Madrid] (CSIC); Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SAO) ; Russian Academy of Sciences [Moscow] (RAS); Armagh Observatory [Armagh]; Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) ; NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH); Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán, Observatorio de Calar Alto (CAHA) ; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Madrid] (CSIC); European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) ; European Space Agency (ESA); Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA) ; Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris ; Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Pôle Planétologie du LESIA ; Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)) ; Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris ; Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris ; Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité); Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung (MPS) ; Max-Planck-Gesellschaft; Department of Physics [Washington] ; American University Washington D.C. (AU); Institute of Astronomy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences ; Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS); Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE) ; Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS) ; COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur ; COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Ephémérides (IMCCE) ; Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris ; Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Lille-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); McDonald Observatory ; University of Texas at Austin [Austin]; Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics [Canberra] (RSAA) ; Australian National University (ANU); Gemini Observatory [Southern Operations Center] ; Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA); UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) ; Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC); Universidad de La Laguna [Tenerife - SP] (ULL); Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC); Astrophysics Research Centre [Belfast] (ARC) ; Queen's University [Belfast] (QUB); Catholic University of America; Astrochemistry Laboratory [Greenbelt] ; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC); Department of Astrophysical Sciences [Princeton] ; Princeton University; Institute for Astronomy [Honolulu] ; University of Hawai'i [Mānoa] (UHM); NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC); School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics [Hatfield] ; University of Hertfordshire [Hatfield] (UH); Swedish Institute of Space Physics [Uppsala] (IRF); National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ); Department of Physics and Astronomy [Columbia] (Mizzou Physics) ; University of Missouri [Columbia] (Mizzou) ; University of Missouri System-University of Missouri System; Institut d'Astrophysique et de Géophysique [Liège] ; Université de Liège; Univers, Transport, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphère et environnement, Molécules (UMR 6213) (UTINAM) ; Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC) ; Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC); PLANETO - LATMOS ; Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) ; Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); European Southern Observatory (ESO); Department of Physics [Trinidad] ; The University of the West Indies; Space Telescope Science Institute (STSci); Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU); Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences ; Slovak Academy of Science [Bratislava] (SAS); Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) ; University College of London [London] (UCL); Centre for Planetary Sciences [UCL/Birkbeck] (CPS) ; University College of London [London] (UCL); Main Astronomical Observatory of NAS of Ukraine (MAO) ; National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU); Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC (RSSD) ; European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) ; European Space Agency (ESA)-European Space Agency (ESA); Institut de recherche en astrophysique et planétologie (IRAP) ; Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) ; Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) ; Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3) ; Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National d'Études Spatiales [Toulouse] (CNES)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Météo-France -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Tuorla Observatory ; University of Turku; Institute of Astronomy [Taiwan] (IANCU) ; National Central University [Taiwan] (NCU); Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO); Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science [Canterbury] (CAPS) ; University of Kent [Canterbury]; Astrophysics Research Institute [Liverpool] (ARI) ; Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU); ESA SSA-NEO Coordination Centre ; European Space Agency (ESA); Caribbean Institute of Astronomy (CARINA); Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú = Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP); Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) ; Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC); SETI Institute; Lowell Observatory [Flagstaff]; ESA Scientific Support Office ; European Space Agency (ESA); Assam University; INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri (OAA) ; Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF); Key Laboratory for the Structure and Evolution of Celestial Objects ; Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing] (CAS); Yunnan Observatories ; Chinese Academy of Sciences [Changchun Branch] (CAS); NASA Ames Research Center (ARC)

Description

We present a summary of the campaign of remote observations that supported the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission. Telescopes across the globe (and in space) followed comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from before Rosetta's arrival until nearly the end of mission in September 2016. These provided essential data for mission planning, large-scale context information for the coma and tailsbeyond the spacecraft, and a way to directly compare 67P with other comets. The observations revealed67P to be a relatively 'well behaved' comet, typical of Jupiter family comets and with activity patterns that repeat from orbit-to-orbit. Comparison between this large collection of telescopic observations and the in situ results from Rosetta will allow us to better understand comet coma chemistry and structure. This work is just beginning as the mission ends. In this paper we present a summary of the ground-based observations and early results, and point to many questions that will be addressed in future studies.

Abstract

International audience

The 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko observation campaign in support of the Rosetta mission

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