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dc.contributor.authorJones, Geraint
dc.contributor.authorKnight, Matthew
dc.contributor.authorBattams, Karl
dc.contributor.authorBoice, Daniel
dc.contributor.authorBrown, John
dc.contributor.authorGiordano, Silvio
dc.contributor.authorRaymond, John
dc.contributor.authorSnodgrass, Colin
dc.contributor.authorSteckloff, Jordan
dc.contributor.authorWeissman, Paul
dc.contributor.authorFitzsimmons, Alan
dc.contributor.authorLisse, Carey M
dc.contributor.authorOpitom, Cyrielle
dc.contributor.authorBirkett, Kimberley
dc.contributor.authorBzowski, Maciej
dc.contributor.authorDecock, Alice
dc.contributor.authorMann, Ingrid
dc.contributor.authorRamanjooloo, Yudish
dc.contributor.authorMcCauley, Patrick
dc.date.accessioned2018-09-03T15:54:27Z
dc.date.available2018-09-03T15:54:27Z
dc.date.issued2017-12-18
dc.description.abstractThis review addresses our current understanding of comets that venture close to the Sun, and are hence exposed to much more extreme conditions than comets that are typically studied from Earth. The extreme solar heating and plasma environments that these objects encounter change many aspects of their behaviour, thus yielding valuable information on both the comets themselves that complements other data we have on primitive solar system bodies, as well as on the near-solar environment which they traverse. We propose clear definitions for these comets: We use the term near-Sun comets to encompass all objects that pass sunward of the perihelion distance of planet Mercury (0.307 AU). Sunskirters are defined as objects that pass within 33 solar radii of the Sun’s centre, equal to half of Mercury’s perihelion distance, and the commonly-used phrase sungrazers to be objects that reach perihelion within 3.45 solar radii, i.e. the fluid Roche limit. Finally, comets with orbits that intersect the solar photosphere are termed sundivers. We summarize past studies of these objects, as well as the instruments and facilities used to study them, including space-based platforms that have led to a recent revolution in the quantity and quality of relevant observations. Relevant comet populations are described, including the Kreutz, Marsden, Kracht, and Meyer groups, near-Sun asteroids, and a brief discussion of their origins. The importance of light curves and the clues they provide on cometary composition are emphasized, together with what information has been gleaned about nucleus parameters, including the sizes and masses of objects and their families, and their tensile strengths. The physical processes occurring at these objects are considered in some detail, including the disruption of nuclei, sublimation, and ionisation, and we consider the mass, momentum, and energy loss of comets in the corona and those that venture to lower altitudes. The different components of comae and tails are described, including dust, neutral and ionised gases, their chemical reactions, and their contributions to the near-Sun environment. Comet-solar wind interactions are discussed, including the use of comets as probes of solar wind and coronal conditions in their vicinities. We address the relevance of work on comets near the Sun to similar objects orbiting other stars, and conclude with a discussion of future directions for the field and the planned ground- and space-based facilities that will allow us to address those science topics.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipBelgian National Science Foundation Fonds pour la formation à la Recherche dans l’Industrie et l’Agriculture, FRIA ISSI UK Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory NASA’s Planetary Mission Data Analysis program and Outer Planet Research program The US National Science Foundation, NSF, Planetary Astronomy Program The European Space Agency/European Space Technology Center Visiting Scientist Program STFC Consolidated Grant The Belgian Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique, FNRS The NASA US Rosetta Projecten_US
dc.descriptionSource at <a href=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-017-0446-5> https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-017-0446-5</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.citationJones, G.H., Knight, M.M., Battams, K., Boice, D.C., Brown, J., Giordano, S., ... McCauley, P. (2018). The Science of Sungrazers, Sunskirters, and Other Near-Sun Comets. Space Science Reviews, 214(20). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-017-0446-5en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 1576179
dc.identifier.issn0038-6308
dc.identifier.issn1572-9672
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/13638
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherSpringer Verlag (Germany)en_US
dc.relation.journalSpace Science Reviews
dc.relation.projectIDinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7-PEOPLE/268421/EU/Ice: Small and Near, Distant and Large. Understanding planet formation through observation of Solar-System minor bodies and extra-solar planets/ISANDAL/en_US
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.subjectVDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Fysikk: 430::Astrofysikk, astronomi: 438en_US
dc.subjectVDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Physics: 430::Astrophysics, astronomy: 438en_US
dc.subjectCometsen_US
dc.subjectSolar coronaen_US
dc.subjectSolar winden_US
dc.titleThe Science of Sungrazers, Sunskirters, and Other Near-Sun Cometsen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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