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At least 217 records · Page 12
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NASA NTRS2005

Parent volatiles in comet 9P/Tempel 1: before and after impact

We quantified eight parent volatiles (H2O, C2H6, HCN, CO, CH3OH, H2CO, C2H2, and CH4) in the Jupiter-family comet Tempel 1 using high-dispersion infrared spectroscopy in the wavelength range 2.8 to 5.0 micrometers. The abundance ratio for ethane was significantly higher after impact, whereas those for methanol and hydrogen cyanide were unchanged. The abundance ratios in the ejecta are similar to those for most Oort cloud comets, but methanol and acetylene are lower in Tempel 1 by a factor of about 2. These results suggest that the volatile ices in Tempel 1 and in most Oort cloud comets originated in a common region of the protoplanetary disk.

Meteoroids↗
NASA NTRS2006

Vibrational Spectroscopy after OSU - From C2- to Interstellar Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

The composition of interstellar ice and dust provides insight into the chemical history of the interstellar medium and early solar system. It is now possible to probe this unique and unusual chemistry and determine the composition of these microscopic interstellar particles which are hundreds to many thousands of light years away thanks to substantial progress in two areas: astronomical spectroscopic techniques in the middle-infrared, the spectral region most diagnostic of chemical composition, and laboratory simulations which realistically reproduce the critical conditions in various interstellar environments. High quality infrared spectra of many different astronomical sources, some associated with giant, dark molecular clouds -the birthplace of stars and planets- and others in more tenuous, UV radiation rich regions are now available. The fundamentals of IR spectroscopy and what comparisons of astronomical IR spectra with laboratory spectra of materials prepared under realistic simulated interstellar conditions tell us about the components of these materials is the subject of this talk. These observations have shown that mixed molecular ices comprised of H2O, CH3OH, CO, NH3 and H2CO contain most of the molecular material in molecular clouds and that gas phase, ionized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widespread and surprisingly abundant throughout most of the interstellar medium.

Allamandola, Louis J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Development of Efficient Mid-IR Interband Cascade Lasers for Chemical Sensing

Significant progress has been made: Above room temperature (up to 350K) pulsed operation has been demonstrated. CW operation temperature has been raised up to 237 K. DFB IC lasers have been applied for the detection of trace gases such as CH4, HCl, and H2CO. Devices have been operated continuously over several hundred hours without degradation. Main challenge remains for many potential applications of ICLs. CW operation at room temperature and above with significant output powers. There is still significant room for improvement: Laser design and material quality - many parameters have not been optimized. Device fabrication and thermal management (passivation, better mounting, etc.). Significantly higher output power can be achieved with laser arrays.

diode lasers↗
NASA NTRS2009

Energetic Processing of Interstellar Ices: A Route to Complexity

More than 140 gas-phase molecules have been detected in the interstellar (IS) medium or in circumstellar environments including inorganics, organics, ions, and radicals. The significant abundance of large, complex organic molecules, and families of isomers in these regions makes the origin and formation history of these species the subject of debate. Observationally determined condensed-phase species are H2O, CO, CO2, NH3 and CH30H, with CH4, HCOOH, OCS, OCN-, H2CO and NH4(+) present at trace levels. These ices can undergo energetic processing with cosmic rays or far-UV photons to form larger complex organics with abundance levels that make them undetectable in icy mantles. Once warmed, however, it is likely that these complex species would enter the gas-phase where they might be detected by Herschel or Alma. Understanding the role of radiation chemistry and thermal processing of ices and identifying new products are the goals of our laboratory research. In the Cosmic lee Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Plight Center, we can study both the photo-and radiation chemistries of ices from 8 -- 300 K. Using dear- and mid-IR spectroscopy we can follow the destruction of primary molecules and the formation of radicals and secondary products as a function of energetic processing. During warming we can monitor the trapping of species and the results of any thermal chemistry. An overview of recent and past work will focus on complex secondary radiation products from small condensed-phase IS species. Likely reactions include dimerization, isomerization, H-addition and H-elimination. Another focus of our work is the development of reaction schemes for the formation of complex molecules and the use of such schemes to predict new molecules awaiting detection by Herschel and Alma.

Moore, Marla H.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Infrared Spectroscopy of Parent Volatiles in Comets: Implications for Astrobiology

Current cometary orbits provide information on their recent dynamical history. However, determining a given comet's formation region from its current dynamical state alone is complicated by radial migration in the proto-planetary disk and by dynamical interactions with the growing giant planets. Because comets reside for long periods of time in the outer Solar System, the ices contained in their nuclei (native ices) retain a relatively well-preserved footprint of when and where they formed, and this in turn can provide clues to conditions in the formation epoch. As a comet approaches the Sun, sublimation of its native ices releases parent volatiles into the coma where they can be measured spectroscopically. The past to - 15 years have seen the advent of infrared spectrometers with high sensitivity between about 2.8 and 5.0 micron, enabling a taxonomy among comets based on abundances of parent volatiles (e.g., H2O, CO, CH4, C2H6, HCN, CH30H, H2CO, NH3). Such molecules are of keen interest to Astrobiology, as they include important pre-biotic species that likely were required for the emergence of life on Earth and perhaps elsewhere. Approximately 20 comets have thus far been characterized, beginning with C/1996 82 (Hyakutake) in 1996. Molecular production rates are established through comparison of observed emission line intensities with those predicted by quantum mechanical fluorescence models. Abundances of parent volatiles (relative to H2O) vary among even the relatively small number of comets sampled, with the most volatile species (CO and CH4) displaying the largest variations. Techniques developed for measuring parent volatile abundances in comets will be discussed, as will possible implications for their formation.

DiSanti, Michael A.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Organics in Comets: Radio Observations of Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin)

We used the Kitt Peak 12m (KP12M) and the Submillimeter Telescope (SMT) of the Arizona Radio Observatory to observe comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin). Several molecules (e.g. H2CO, HCN and CS) were clearly detected throughout the observing run. Searches were made for new molecules and cyclopropenylidene (c-C3H2) emission was detected for the first time in a comet.

Kuan, Y.↗
NASA NTRS2010

A Comparison of Oxidized Carbon Abundances among Comets

Comets contain relatively well preserved icy material remaining from the epoch of Solar System formation, however the extent to which these ices are modified from their initial state remains a fundamental question in cometary science. As a comet approaches the Sun, sublimation of the ices contained in its nucleus (termed " native ices") releases parent volatiles into the coma, where they can be measured spectroscopically. One means of assessing the degree to which interstellar ices were processed prior to their incorporation into cometary nuclei is to measure the relative abundances of chemically-related parent volatiles. For example, formation of C2H6 by hydrogen atom addition (e.g., to C2H2) on surfaces of ice-mantled grains was proposed to explain the high C2H6 to CH4 abundance observed in C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) [1]. The large C2H6/CH4 abundance ratios measured universally in comets, compared with those predicted by gas phase production of C2H6, establishes H-atom addition as an important and likely ubiquitous process. CO should also be hydrogenated on grain surfaces. Laboratory irradiation experiments on interstellar ice analogs indicate this to require very low temperatures (T approx. 10-25 K), the resulting yields of H2CO and CH3OH being highly dependent both on hydrogen density (i.e., fluence) and on temperature ([2],[3]). This relatively narrow range in temperature reflects a lack of mobility below 8-10 K on the one hand, and reduced sticking times for H-atoms as grain surfaces are warmed above 20 K on the other. The relative abundances of these three chemically-related molecules in comets provides one measure of the efficiency of H-atom addition to CO on pre-cometary grains (Fig. 1).

DiSanti, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS2011

A Hollow-Waveguide Gas Correlation Radiometer for Ultra-Precise Column Measurements of Formaldehyde on Mars

We present preliminary results in the development of a miniaturized gas correlation radiometer that implements a hollow-core optical fiber (hollow waveguide) gas correlation cell. The substantial reduction in mass and volume of the gas correlation cell makes this technology appropriate for an orbital mission -- capable of pinpointing sources of trace gases in the Martian atmosphere. Here we demonstrate a formaldehyde (H2CO) sensor and report a detection limit equivalent to approximately 30 ppb in the Martian atmosphere. The relative simplicity of the technique allows it to be expanded to measure a range of atmospheric trace gases of interest on Mars such as methane (CH4), water vapour (H2O), deuterated water vapour (HDO), and methanol (CH3OH). Performance of a formaldehyde instrument in a Mars orbit has been simulated assuming a 3 meter long, 1000 micron inner diameter hollow-core fiber gas correlation cell, a 92.8 degree sun-synchronous orbit from 400 km with a horizontal sampling scale of 10 km x 10 km. Initial results indicate that for one second of averaging, a detection limit of 1 ppb is possible.

Wilson, Emily L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Temporal and Spatial Aspects of Gas Release During the 2010 Apparition of Comet 103P/Hartley-2

We report measurements of eight primary volatiles (H2O, HCN, CH4, C2H6, CH3OH, C2H2, H2CO, and NH3) and two product species (OH and NH2) in comet lO3P/Hartley-2 using high dispersion infrared spectroscopy. We quantified the long- and short-term behavior of volatile release over a three-month interval that encompassed the comet's close approach to Earth, its perihelion passage, and flyby of the comet by the Deep Impact spacecraft during the EPOXI mission. We present production rates for individual species, their mixing ratios relative to water, and their spatial distributions in the coma on multiple dates. The production rates for water, ethane, HCN, and methanol vary in a manner consistent with independent measures of nucleus rotation, but mixing ratios for HCN, C2H6, & CH3OH are independent of rotational phase. Our results demonstrate that the ensemble average composition of gas released from the nucleus is well defined, and relatively constant over the three-month interval (September 18 through December 1,7). If individual vents vary in composition, enough diverse vents must be active simultaneously to approximate (in sum) the bulk composition of the nucleus. The released primary volatiles exhibit diverse spatial properties which favor the presence of separate polar and apolar ice phases in the nucleus, establish dust and gas release from icy clumps, and from the nucleus, and provide insights into the driver for the cyanogen (CN) polar jet. The spatial distributions of C2H6 & HCN along the near-polar jet (UT 19.5 October) and nearly orthogonal to it (UT 22.5 October) are discussed relative to the origin of CN. The ortho-para ratio (OPR) of water was 2.85 +/- 0.20; the lower bound (2.65) defines T(sub spin) > 32 K. These values are consistent with results returned from ISO in 1997 .

Mumma, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Multiwavelength Observations of Volatiles in Comets

Recently, there have been complimentary observations from multiple facilities to try to unravel the chemical complexity of comets. Incorporating results from various techniques, including: single-dish millimeter wavelength observations, interferometers, and/or IR spectroscopy, one can gain further insight into the abundances, production rates, distributions, and formation mechanisms of molecules in these objects [I]. Such studies have provided great detail towards molecules with a-typical chemistries, such as H2CO [2]. We report spectral observations of C/2006 M4 (SWAN), C/2007 N3 (Lulin), and C/2009 RI (McNaught) with the Arizona Radio Observatory's SMT and 12-m telescopes, as well as the NRAO Greenbank telescope and IRTFCSHELL. Multiple parent volatiles (HCN, CH3OH, CO, CH4, C2H6, and H2O) plus two photodissociation products (CS and OH) have been detected in these objects. We will present a comparison of molecular abundances in these comets to those observed in others, supporting a long-term effort of building a comet taxonomy based on composition. Previous work has revealed a range of abundances of parent species (from "organics-poor" to "organics-rich") with respect to water among comets [3,4,5], however the statistics are stiII poorly constrained and interpretations of the observed compositional diversity are uncertain.

Milam, Stefanie N.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Temporal and Spatial Aspects of Gas Release During the 2010 Apparition of Comet 103P/Hartley-2

We report measurements of eight primary volatiles (H2O, HCN, CH4, C2H6, CH3OH, C2H2, H2CO, and NH3) and two product species (OH and NH2) in comet 103P/Hartley-2 using high dispersion infrared spectroscopy. We present production rates for individual volatiles species, their mixing ratios relative to water, and their spatial distributions in the coma on multiple dates that span the interval Sept. - Dec. 2010. The production rates vary strongly with nucleus rotation, but the mixing ratios remain constant throughout the campaign. The released primary volatiles exhibit diverse spatial properties which favor the presence of separate polar and apolar ice phases in the nucleus, establish dust and gas release from icy clumps (and also, directly from the nucleus), and provide insights into the driver for the cyanogen (CN) polar jet.

Bonev, B. P.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Radio Observations of Organics in Comets

A major observational challenge in cometary science is to quantify the extent to which chemical compounds can be linked to either interstellar or nebular chemistry. Recently, there have been complimentary observations from multiple facilities to try to unravel the chemical complexity of comets and their origins. Incorporating results from various techniques can gain further insight into the abundances, production rates, distributions, and formation mechanisms of molecules in these objects [I]. Such studies have provided great detail towards molecules with a-typical chemistries, such as H2CO [2]. We report multiwavelength spectral observations of comets from two dynamical families including the JFC 103P/Hartley 2 and a long period comet C/2009 PI (Garradd) with the Arizona Radio Observatory's SMT and 12-m telescopes, as well as the NRAO Greenbank telescope, and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. Multiple parent volatiles (e.g. HCN, CH30H, CO) as well as daughter products (e.g, CS and 01-1) have been detected in these objects. We will present a comparison of molecular abundances in these comets to those observed in others, supporting a long-term effort of building a comet taxonomy based on composition. Previous work has revealed a range of abundances of parent species (from "organics-poor" to "organics-rich") with respect to water among comets [3,4,5], however the statistics are not well constrained.

Milam, Stefanie N.↗
NASA NTRS2011

A Newly Developed Fluorescence Model for C2H6 v5 and Application to Cometary Spectra Acquired with NIRSPEC at Keck II

Accurate rotational temperatures are essential for extracting production rates for parent volatiles in comets. Two strong bands of ethane (v7 at 2985.39/cm and v5 at 2895.67/cm) are seen in infrared cometary spectra, but the Q-branches of v7 are not resolved by current instruments and cannot provide an accurate rotational temperature with current models.We developed a fluorescence model for the C2H6 v5 band that can be used to derive a rotational temperature.We applied our C2H6 5 model to high-resolution infrared spectra of the comets C/2004 Q2 Machholz and C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR), acquired with the Near-infrared Echelle Spectrograph on the Keck II telescope. We demonstrate agreement among the rotational temperatures derived from C2H6 v5 and other species, and between mixing ratios derived from C2H6 v5 and C2H6 v7. As a symmetric hydrocarbon, C2H6 is observed only in the infrared, and it is now the fifth molecule (along with H2O, HCN, CO, and H2CO) for which we can derive a reliable rotational temperature from cometary infrared spectra.

Radeva, Yana L.↗
NASA NTRS2011

The Molecular Composition of Comet C/2007 W1 (Boattini): Evidence of a Peculiar Outgassing and a Rich Chemistry

We measured the chemical composition of Comet C/2007 W1 (Boattini) using the long-slit echelle grating spectrograph at Keck-2 (NIRSPEC) on 2008 July 9 and 10. We sampled 11 volatile species (H2O, OH*, C2H6, CH3OH, H2CO, CH4, HCN, C2H2, NH3, NH2, and CO), and retrieved three important cosmogonic indicators: the ortho-para ratios of H2O and CH4, and an upper-limit for the D/H ratio in water. The abundance ratios of almost all trace volatiles (relative to water) are among the highest ever observed in a comet. The comet also revealed a complex outgassing pattern, with some volatiles (the polar species H2O and CH3OH) presenting very asymmetric spatial profiles (extended in the anti-sunward hemisphere), while others (e.g., C2H6 and HCN) showed particularly symmetric profiles. We present emission profiles measured along the Sun-comet line for all observed volatiles, and discuss different production scenarios needed to explain them. We interpret the emission profiles in terms of release from two distinct moieties of ice, the first being clumps of mixed ice and dust released from the nucleus into the sunward hemisphere. The second moiety considered is very small grains of nearly pure polar ice (water and methanol, without dark material or apolar volatiles). Such grains would sublimate only very slowly, and could be swept into the anti-sunward hemisphere by radiation pressure and solar-actuated non-gravitational jet forces, thus providing an extended source in the anti-sunward hemisphere.

Villanueva, G. L.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Characterizing Abundances of Volatiles in Comets Through Multiwavelength Observations

Recently, there have been complimentary observations from multiple facilities to try to unravel the chemical complexity of comets. Incorporating results from various techniques, including: single-dish millimeter wavelength observations, interferometers, and/or IR spectroscopy, one can gain further insight into the abundances, production rates, distributions, and formation mechanisms of molecules in these objects [I]. Such studies have provided great detail towards molecules with a-typical chemistries, such as H2CO [2]. We report spectral observations of C/2007 N3 (Lulin), C/2009 R1 (McNaught), 103P/Hartley 2, and C/2009 P1 (Garradd) with the Arizona Radio Observatory's SMT and 12-m telescopes, as well as the NRAO Greenbank telescope and IRTF-CSHELL. Multiple parent volatiles (HCN, CH3OH, CO, CH4, C2H6, and H2O) as well as a number of daughter products (CS and OH) have been detected in these objects. We will present a comparison of molecular abundances in these comets to those observed in others, supporting a long-term effort of building a comet taxonomy based on composition. Previous work has revealed a range of abundances of parent species (from "organics-poor" to "organics-rich") with respect to water among comets [3,4,5], however the statistics are still poorly constrained and interpretations of the observed compositional diversity are uncertain. We gratefully acknowledge support from the NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Program, the NASA Planetary Astronomy Program, NASA Planetary Atmospheres Program, and the NASA Astrobiology Program.

Milam, Stefanie N.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Miniaturized Gas Correlation Radiometer for the Detection of Trace Gases in the Martian Atmosphere

We present a miniaturized and simplified version of a gas correlation radiometer (GCR) capable of simultaneously mapping multiple trace gases and identifying active regions on the Mars surface. Gas correlation radiometry (GCR) has been shown to be a sensitive and versatile method for detecting trace gases in Earth's atmosphere. Reduction of the size and mass of the GCR was achieved by implementing compact, light-weight 1 mm inner diameter hollow-core optical fibers (hollow waveguides) as the gas correlation cells. In a comparison with an Earth orbiting CO2 GCR instrument, exchanging the 10 m multipass cells with hollow waveguide gas correlation cells of equivalent path length reduces the mass from approximately 150 kg to approximately 0.5 kg, and reduces the volume from 1.9 m x 1.3 m x 0.86 m to a small bundle of fiber coils approximately 1 meter in diameter by 0.05 m in height (mass and volume reductions of greater than 99%). A unique feature of this instrument is its stackable module design, with a single module for each trace gas. Each of the modules is self-contained, and fundamentally identical; differing by the bandpass filter wavelength range and gas mixtures inside the hollow-waveguide absorption cells. The current configuration contains four stacked modules for simultaneous measurements of methane (CH4), formaldehyde (H2CO), water vapor (H2O), and deuterated water vapor (HDO) but could easily be expanded to include measurements of additional species of interest including nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methanol (CH3OH), and sulfur dioxide (SO2), as well as carbon dioxide (CO2) for a simultaneous measure of mass balance. Preliminary results indicate that a 1 ppb detection limit is possible for both formaldehyde and methane with one second of averaging. Using non-optimized components, we have demonstrated an instrument sensitivity equivalent to approximately 30 ppb for formaldehyde, and approximately 500 ppb for methane. We expect custom bandpass filters and 6 m long waveguides to significantly improve these promising results. Ongoing testing is being conducted on water vapor and deuterated water vapor.

Melroy, Hilary R.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Development of Primary Volatile Production in COMET C/20O9 Pl (GARRADD) During its 2011-2O12 Apparition

We quantified primary volatiles in comet C/2009 Pl (Garradd) through pre- and post-perihelion observations acquired during its apparition in 2011-12 [1,2,3]. Detected volatiles include H2O, CO, CH4, C2H2, C2H6, HCN, NH3, H2CO, and CH3OH. We present production rates and chemical abundance ratios (relative to water) for all species, and I-D spatial profiles for multiple primary volatiles. We discuss these findings in the context of an emerging taxonomy based on primary volatiles in comets [4]. We used three spectrometer/telescope combinations. On UT 20ll August 7 (Rh 2.4 AU) and September 17-21 (Rh 2.0 AU), we used CRIRES at ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) [1]. On September 8 and 9 (Rh 2.1 AU), we used NIRSPEC at Keck-2 and CSHELL at IRTF [2]. Using NIRSPEC on October 13 and 2012 January 08 (Rh 1.83 and 1.57 AU, respectively), we detected nine primary volatiles pre-perihelion, and six post-perihelion [3]. CO was enriched in Garradd while C2H2 was strongly depleted. C2H6 and CH3OH displayed abundances close to those measured for the majority of Oort cloud comets observed to date. The high fractional abundance of CO identifies comet C12009 P1 as a CO-rich comet. Spatial profiles revealed notable differences among individual primary species. Given the relatively large heliocentric distance of C/2009 Pl, we explored the effect of water not being fully sublimated within our field of view and we identi$, the "missing" water fraction needed to reconcile the retrieved abundance ratios with the mean values found for "organics-normal" comets.

Mumma, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Submillimetric Spectroscopic Observations of Volatiles in Comet C-2004 Q2 (Machholz)

Submillimeter spectroscopic observations of comets provide an important tool for understanding their chemical composition and enable a taxonomic classification. Aims. We aim to determine the production rates of several parent- and product volatiles and the C-12/C-13 isotopic carbon ratio in the long-period comet C/2004 Q2 (Machholz), which is likely to originate from the Oort Cloud. Methods. The line emission from several molecules in the coma was measured with high signal-to-noise ratio in January 2005 at heliocentric distance of 1.2 AU by means of high-resolution spectroscopic observations using the Submillimeter Telescope (SMT) at the Arizona Radio Observatory (ARO). Results. We have obtained production rates of several volatiles (CH3OH, HCN, H(sup 13)CN, HNC, H2CO, CO, and CS) by comparing the observed and simulated line-integrated intensities. We calculated the synthetic profiles using a radiative transfer code that includes collisions between neutrals and electrons, and the effects of radiative pumping of the fundamental vibrational levels by solar infrared radiation. Furthermore, multiline observations of the CH3OH J = 7-6 series allow us to estimate the rotational temperature using the rotation diagram technique. We find that the CH3OH population distribution of the levels sampled by these lines can be described by a rotational temperature of 40 +/- 3 K. Derived mixing ratios relative to hydrogen cyanide are CO/CH3OH/H2CO/CS/HNC/HC-13N/HCN= 30.9/24.6/4.8/0.57/0.031/0.013/1 assuming a pointing offset of 8" due to the uncertain ephemeris at the time of the observations and the telescope pointing error. Conclusions. The measured relative molecular abundances in C/2004 Q2 (Machholz) are between low- to typical values of those obtained in Oort Cloud comets, suggesting that it has visited the inner solar system previously and undergone thermal processing. The HNC/HCN abundance ratio of approx 3.1% is comparable to that found in other comets, accounting for the dependence on the heliocentric distance, and could possibly be explained by ion-molecule chemical processes in the low-temperature atmosphere. From a tentative HC-13N detection, the measured value of 97 +/- 30 for the HC-12N/HC-13N isotopologue pair is consistent with a telluric value. The outgassing variability observed in the HCN production rates over a period of two hours is consistent with the rotation of the nucleus derived using different observational techniques.

chemical composition↗