Author
Joachim Huth
Bio: Joachim Huth is an academic researcher from Max Planck Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: Cosmic dust & Interplanetary dust cloud. The author has an hindex of 19, co-authored 53 publications receiving 2895 citations.
Papers
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Donald E. Brownlee1, Peter Tsou2, Jérôme Aléon3, Conel M. O'd. Alexander4 +182 more•Institutions (57)
TL;DR: The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study, and preliminary examination shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin.
Abstract: The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.
886 citations
University of California, Los Angeles1, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory2, University of Washington3, Carnegie Institution for Science4, Space Sciences Laboratory5, Washington University in St. Louis6, University of Manchester7, California Institute of Technology8, Max Planck Society9, Harvard University10, American Museum of Natural History11, Goddard Space Flight Center12, Minnesota State University, Mankato13, University of Minnesota14, Jet Propulsion Laboratory15, United States Naval Research Laboratory16
TL;DR: Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopic compositions are heterogeneous among comet 81P/Wild 2 particle fragments; however, extreme isotopic anomalies are rare, indicating that the comet is not a pristine aggregate of presolar materials.
Abstract: Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopic compositions are heterogeneous among comet 81P/Wild 2 particle fragments; however, extreme isotopic anomalies are rare, indicating that the comet is not a pristine aggregate of presolar materials. Nonterrestrial nitrogen and neon isotope ratios suggest that indigenous organic matter and highly volatile materials were successfully collected. Except for a single 17 O-enriched circumstellar stardust grain, silicate and oxide minerals have oxygen isotopic compositions consistent with solar system origin. One refractory grain is 16 O-enriched, like refractory inclusions in meteorites, suggesting that Wild 2 contains material formed at high temperature in the inner solar system and transported to the Kuiper belt before comet accretion.
370 citations
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory1, Open University2, University of Washington3, University of Kent4, University of California, San Diego5, University of Chicago6, Washington University in St. Louis7, Max Planck Society8, Natural History Museum9, Lille University of Science and Technology10, University of California, Berkeley11, University of Münster12, United States Naval Research Laboratory13, Spanish National Research Council14, California Institute of Technology15
TL;DR: Particles emanating from comet 81P/Wild 2 collided with the Stardust spacecraft at 6.1 kilometers per second, producing hypervelocity impact features on the collector surfaces that were returned to Earth.
Abstract: Particles emanating from comet 81P/Wild 2 collided with the Stardust spacecraft at 6.1 kilometers per second, producing hypervelocity impact features on the collector surfaces that were returned to Earth. The morphologies of these surprisingly diverse features were created by particles varying from dense mineral grains to loosely bound, polymineralic aggregates ranging from tens of nanometers to hundreds of micrometers in size. The cumulative size distribution of Wild 2 dust is shallower than that of comet Halley, yet steeper than that of comet Grigg-Skjellerup.
308 citations
State University of New York at Plattsburgh1, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility2, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory3, Goethe University Frankfurt4, Stanford University5, Open University6, University of Washington7, Smithsonian Institution8, Dartmouth College9, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory10, École normale supérieure de Lyon11, Washington University in St. Louis12, University of California, Berkeley13, Centre national de la recherche scientifique14, Max Planck Society15, Rutgers University16, University of Antwerp17, Natural History Museum18, University of Chicago19, university of lille20, Kyushu University21, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology22, California Institute of Technology23, University of Georgia24, University of New Mexico25, University of Münster26, United States Naval Research Laboratory27, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory28, Osaka University29, Ghent University30
TL;DR: The elements Cu, Zn, and Ga appear enriched in this Wild 2 material, which suggests that the CI meteorites may not represent the solar system composition for these moderately volatile minor elements.
Abstract: We measured the elemental compositions of material from 23 particles in aerogel and from residue in seven craters in aluminum foil that was collected during passage of the Stardust spacecraft through the coma of comet 81P/Wild 2. These particles are chemically heterogeneous at the largest size scale analyzed (similar to 180 ng). The mean elemental composition of this Wild 2 material is consistent with the CI meteorite composition, which is thought to represent the bulk composition of the solar system, for the elements Mg, Si, Mn, Fe, and Ni to 35%, and for Ca and Ti to 60%. The elements Cu, Zn, and Ga appear enriched in this Wild 2 material, which suggests that the CI meteorites may not represent the solar system composition for these moderately volatile minor elements.
224 citations
University of California, Berkeley1, United States Naval Research Laboratory2, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory3, Goethe University Frankfurt4, State University of New York at Plattsburgh5, Jacobs Engineering Group6, Heidelberg University7, Carnegie Institution for Science8, Field Museum of Natural History9, University of Leicester10, University of Washington11, University of Kent12, Ghent University13, University of New Mexico14, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility15, University of Chicago16, Washington University in St. Louis17, Max Planck Society18, International Space Science Institute19, Natural History Museum20, Argonne National Laboratory21, École normale supérieure de Lyon22, university of lille23, Ames Research Center24, University of Stuttgart25, Jet Propulsion Laboratory26
TL;DR: The Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector captured seven particles and returned to Earth for laboratory analysis have features consistent with an origin in the contemporary interstellar dust stream and more than 50 spacecraft debris particles were also identified as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Seven particles captured by the Stardust Interstellar Dust Collector and returned to Earth for laboratory analysis have features consistent with an origin in the contemporary interstellar dust stream. More than 50 spacecraft debris particles were also identified. The interstellar dust candidates are readily distinguished from debris impacts on the basis of elemental composition and/or impact trajectory. The seven candidate interstellar particles are diverse in elemental composition, crystal structure, and size. The presence of crystalline grains and multiple iron-bearing phases, including sulfide, in some particles indicates that individual interstellar particles diverge from any one representative model of interstellar dust inferred from astronomical observations and theory.
176 citations
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TL;DR: The importance of zircon in crustal evolution studies is underscored by its predominant use in U-Th-Pb geochronology and investigations of the temporal evolution of both the crust and lithospheric mantle as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Zircon is the main mineral in the majority of igneous and metamorphic rocks with Zr as an essential structural constituent. It is a host for significant fractions of the whole-rock abundance of U, Th, Hf, and the REE (Sawka 1988, Bea 1996, O’Hara et al. 2001). These elements are important geochemically as process indicators or parent isotopes for age determination. The importance of zircon in crustal evolution studies is underscored by its predominant use in U-Th-Pb geochronology and investigations of the temporal evolution of both the crust and lithospheric mantle. In the past decade an increasing interest in the composition of zircon, trace-elements in particular, has been motivated by the effort to better constrain in situ microprobe-acquired isotopic ages. Electron-beam compositional imaging and isotope-ratio measurement by in situ beam techniques—and the micrometer-scale spatial resolution that is possible—has revealed in many cases that single zircon crystals contain a record of multiple geologic events. Such events can either be zircon-consuming, alteration, or zircon-forming and may be separated in time by millions or billions of years. In many cases, calculated zircon isotopic ages do not coincide with ages of geologic events determined from other minerals or from whole-rock analysis. To interpret the geologic validity and significance of multiple ages, and ages unsupported by independent analysis of other isotopic systems, has been the impetus for most past investigations of zircon composition. Some recent compositional investigations of zircon have not been directly related to geochronology, but to the ability of zircon to influence or record petrogenetic processes in igneous and metamorphic systems.
Sedimentary rocks may also contain a significant fraction of zircon. Although authigenic zircon has been reported (Saxena 1966, Baruah et al. 1995, Hower et al. 1999), it appears to be very rare and may in fact be related to …
3,777 citations
TL;DR: Simulation of the early Solar System shows how the inward migration of Jupiter to 1.5 au, and its subsequent outward migration, lead to a planetesimal disk truncated at 1’au; the terrestrial planets then form from this disk over the next 30–50 million years, with an Earth/Mars mass ratio consistent with observations.
Abstract: Jupiter and Saturn formed in a few million years from a gas-dominated protoplanetary disk, and were susceptible to gas-driven migration of their orbits on timescales of only approximately 100,000 years. Hydrodynamic simulations show that these giant planets can undergo a two-stage, inward-then-outward, migration. The terrestrial planets finished accreting much later and their characteristics, including Mars' small mass, are best reproduced by starting from a planetesimal disk with an outer edge at about one astronomical unit from the Sun (1 AU is the Earth-Sun distance). Here we report simulations of the early Solar System that show how the inward migration of Jupiter to 1.5 AU, and its subsequent outward migration, lead to a planetesimal disk truncated at 1 AU; the terrestrial planets then form from this disk over the next 30-50 million years, with an Earth/Mars mass ratio consistent with observations. Scattering by Jupiter initially empties but then repopulates the asteroid belt, with inner-belt bodies originating between 1 and 3 AU and outer-belt bodies originating between and beyond the giant planets. This explains the significant compositional differences across the asteroid belt. The key aspect missing from previous models of terrestrial planet formation is the substantial radial migration of the giant planets, which suggests that their behaviour is more similar to that inferred for extrasolar planets than previously thought.
1,174 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a review examines the experimental achievements and puts them into the context of the dust processes in protoplanetary disks, concluding that the formation of planetesimals starts with the growth of fractal dust aggregates, followed by compaction processes.
Abstract: The formation of planetesimals, the kilometer-sized planetary precursors, is still a puzzling process. Considerable progress has been made over the past years in the physical description of the first stages of planetesimal formation, owing to extensive laboratory work. This review examines the experimental achievements and puts them into the context of the dust processes in protoplanetary disks. It has become clear that planetesimal formation starts with the growth of fractal dust aggregates, followed by compaction processes. As the dust-aggregate sizes increase, the mean collision velocity also increases, leading to the stalling of the growth and possibly to fragmentation, once the dust aggregates have reached decimeter sizes. A multitude of hypotheses for the further growth have been proposed, such as very sticky materials, secondary collision processes, enhanced growth at the snow line, or cumulative dust effects with gravitational instability. We will also critically review these ideas.
892 citations
Donald E. Brownlee1, Peter Tsou2, Jérôme Aléon3, Conel M. O'd. Alexander4 +182 more•Institutions (57)
TL;DR: The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study, and preliminary examination shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin.
Abstract: The Stardust spacecraft collected thousands of particles from comet 81P/Wild 2 and returned them to Earth for laboratory study. The preliminary examination of these samples shows that the nonvolatile portion of the comet is an unequilibrated assortment of materials that have both presolar and solar system origin. The comet contains an abundance of silicate grains that are much larger than predictions of interstellar grain models, and many of these are high-temperature minerals that appear to have formed in the inner regions of the solar nebula. Their presence in a comet proves that the formation of the solar system included mixing on the grandest scales.
886 citations
881 citations