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Updated: Apr 6, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths
Published on: July 1, 2019
COMETARY SCIENCE. 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko surface properties as derived from CIVA panoramic images
J-P Bibring1, Y Langevin2, J Carter2
1Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), CNRS/Université Paris Sud, Orsay, France. bibring@ias.u-psud.fr.
Abstract:
The structure and composition of cometary constituents, down to their microscopic scale, are critical witnesses of the processes and ingredients that drove the formation and evolution of planetary bodies toward their present diversity. On board Rosetta's lander Philae, the Comet Infrared and Visible Analyser (CIVA) experiment took a series of images to characterize the surface materials surrounding the lander on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Images were collected twice: just after touchdown, and after Philae finally came to rest, where it acquired a full panorama. These images reveal a fractured surface with complex structure and a variety of grain scales and albedos, possibly constituting pristine cometary material.
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