Hydrodynamic modelling of cometary particles captured in aerogel and the Earths atmosphere

Abstract

The capture of cometary fragments in aerogel by the Stardust mission is analogous to the process of meteoroid deceleration in the Earths atmosphere. We present a simplified model for the formation of the tracks formed in aerogel by hypervelocity impacts of cometary material. Using a hydrodynamic approach to model this class of problem overcomes some of the errors associated with previous semi-analytical models for track formation (Coulson 2009). The hydrodynamic models developed allow the particle velocity, temperature and pressure to be calculated as a function of track length within aerogel. A qualative description of how this model can be extended to the formation of bulbous cavities using the Chapman-Jouquet theory is provided.