Unusual Spires Found on Comet Wild 2
How did unusual spires form on comet
Wild 2?
Close inspection of
images taken of
Comet Wild 2 by the passing
Stardust spacecraft in January show numerous
strange pinnacles as long as 100 meters long jutting off the surface.
The pinnacles were unexpected - close-ups of
other
comets and
asteroids show no such features.
In fact, no other
Solar System
object besides Earth is known to show such
unusual structures.
Other unusual
Wild 2 surface features including long cliffs, deep pits and craters,
and numerous active jets.
Together with the spires, these features are
hypothesized to be indicative of a very rigid surface sculpted by impacts and explosive sublimation.
Initially, Wild 2 was expected by many to be held together only quite loosely.
Stardust is scheduled to
fly by the Earth in 2006 and
drop off a sample of Wild 2 for detailed scrutiny.