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Analytical methods for discriminating stardust in aerogel capture media

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2012

Sean Brennan*
Affiliation:
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, California 94025
Katharina Luening
Affiliation:
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, California 94025
Konstantin Ignatyev
Affiliation:
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, California 94025
Piero Pianetta
Affiliation:
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Menlo Park, California 94025
Hope A. Ishii
Affiliation:
Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550
John P. Bradley
Affiliation:
Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550
*
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: sean.brennan@stanford.edu

Abstract

Methods using X-ray fluorescence have been developed to identify cometary material captured in aerogel during the NASA Stardust mission to Comet 81P/Wild 2. These analytical methods are necessitated by the levels of trace contaminants present in the aerogel. The cometary material disaggregates during deceleration in the aerogel, so fluorescence mapping of the entire track (which can be several millimeters long) is necessary. Distinguishing those pixels which have cometary material and aerogel from those which have only cometary material can be very challenging. We have chosen a “dual threshold” method, with some pixels clearly having only aerogel (plus contaminants) and other pixels clearly having cometary and aerogel material. Between these two threshold levels is a set of pixels which cannot be easily ascribed to one or the other. By leaving these pixels out of the analysis, the estimate of cometary material is improved.

Type
Stardust Characterization
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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