Inside Imhotep

Imhotep, on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's large lobe, is one of the most geologically diverse regions observed by Rosetta. This blog post presents the results of a new paper by Anne-Thérèse Auger from the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM, France) et al, which describes Imhotep's key features and discusses possible scenarios for this region's evolution. The post was prepared with inputs from Anne-Thérèse and co-author Olivier Groussin, also from LAM. Imhotep is located close to the comet’s equator and is relatively flat compared to the overall shape of the nucleus. It caught the attention of scientists on the approach to the comet with its broad smooth area, covering about 0.8 square km, standing out in the first close images of this region. Within this intriguing area, a variety of diverse features can be found. This diverse geomorphology holds fundamental clues to understanding the cometary processes that lead to the formation of the surface as we see it today, and also provides insights for the underlying and possibly primordial structure of the comet. The graphic below maps the geomorphology of the region, indicating the different types of features identified in Imhotep. The context image at the start of this post showcases some examples of each of these features. Short descriptions follow. Smooth terrains Smooth terrains cover about one-third of Imhotep and are located in the gravitational lows. High-resolution (30 cm/pixel) images show that it comprises fine-grained material with a size of up to a few tens of centimetres for the largest grains. As seen elsewhere on the comet, the thickness of the dust seems to vary, with the underlying surface revealed in places. Within the smooth terrains a number of curvilinear features are seen, spanning hundreds of metres to a km in length. In some places they cross the interface between smooth and more […]

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