A postimpact plume is the cloud of gas and fine debris ejected by the impacts of comets and meteorites on the surfaces or atmospheres of planetary bodies. One example is the plume released by impact of fragments of the comet Shoemaker-Levy on Jupiter; another is that produced by the impact of an artificial satellite and booster rocket on the moon. Spectral analysis of plumes provides information about the composition at the surface of the target and of the impacter. Such plumes could also be responsible for significant atmospheric chemical synthesis during the early formation of planets.
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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Cleaves, H.J.(., Arndt, N. (2014). Postimpact Plume. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1259-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1259-3
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4
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Postimpact Plume- Published:
- 15 February 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1259-4
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Postimpact Plume- Published:
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1259-3