The following document lists the file abstract/LCOLANGE_CONTRAST.abs
from catalogue VI/111.
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The goal of this proposal is to study dynamical and composition properties of grains emitted from comet nuclei and present in their trails. Comets are commonly considered the best reservoir of pristine cosmic dust in the Solar System. The importance of a detailed study of comets is testified by the results obtained from past space missions such as Giotto (Grewing et al. Eds., A&A 187, 1987) and by the future ESA programs, with Rosetta mission recently selected as cornerstone number 3 (ESA Publ., SCI(93)7, 1993). Preparing for the success of Rosetta, the present knowledge about physico-chemical properties of comets has to be improved. The observation of nuclei and cometary trails provides information on dynamical, morphological and chemical properties of solid particles. Ground-based observations combined with appropriate model simulations have already allowed to perform important steps ahead (Newburn et al. Eds., Comets in the Post Halley Era, Kluwer, Vol. 167, 1991). However, the possibility of exploiting the ISO facility will improve enormously the accuracy in observations. The combined spectral and imaging capabilities provided by ISO in the infrared are useful to analyse faint cometary dust trails and comae, not detectable by means of ground-based observations. These data will be complemented with other observations, possibly available in the visible range, and compared with, and/or used as inputs of, models aimed to determine grain dynamics, morphology and composition. Some of the comets included in the present proposal are possible targets of the Rosetta mission. The selected sample appears of relevant interest for the possible scientific follow-up in the perspective of the Rosetta mission.