NASA NTRS · 19730027940
Neutral hydrogen in cometary comas.
Abstract
The strong L alpha radiation observed recently in comets Tago-Sato-Kosaka and Bennett can be explained in terms of the resonant scattering of solar L alpha radiation on neutral hydrogen formed by the photodissociation of H2O which is vaporized from a nucleus having an ice core. A complete hydrodynamic description of an atmosphere composed of H2O and its daughter products OH, H and O coupled through frictional interaction as well as production and loss processes is given. Numerical results are computed in a typical case, and it is found that a temperature of about 3000 K for the cometary atmosphere provides the best fit with observation.
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Mendis, D. A., Holzer, T. E., Axford, W. I.. 1972-02-01. Neutral hydrogen in cometary comas.. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19730027940
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