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NASA NTRS1990

IUE observations of comet Austin (1989c1)

Observations of comet Austin (1989c1) were made using the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite on December 22, 1989 (preperihelion) and on nine dates between 7 and 24 May, 1990 (postperihelion). A summary of observation dates and parameters is given. The ultraviolet spectrum is characteristic of that of non-dusty comets. Some preliminary results are presented for OH and CS production rates and dust-reflected solar continuum emission based upon the long wavelength, low resolution mode spectra; photometry using the IUE Fine Error Sensor; a detection of the CO fourth positive system in the short wavelength, low dispersion spectra; and an upper limit on S2.

Budzien, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

OH radio observations of comets P/Brorsen-Metcalf (1989o), Okazaki-Levy-Rudenko (1989r), Aarseth-Brewington (1989a1), and Austin (1989c1) at the Nancay radio telescope

The 1667 MHz and 1665 MHz transitions of the OH radical were recently monitored in several comets with the Nancay radio telescope: P/Brorsen-Metcalf (1989o) (August 4 to October 31, 1989), Okazaki-Levy-Rudenko (1989r) (October 3 to December 2, 1989), Aarseth-Brewington (1989a1) (December 8 to 30, 1989), and Austin (1989c1) (February 15 to June 14, 1990). Present gas expansion measurements obtained from the analysis of the line shapes are presented and the long term variations of the water production rate, as measured from the OH radio lines. On October 13, 1989, the occultation of a background source by comet Okazaki-Levy-Rudenko (1989r) was fortuitously observed. A preliminary report of this observation is given. Further analysis of the data is continuing.

Bockelee-Morvan, D.↗
NASA NTRS1990

VLA searches for formaldehyde and cyanoacetylene emission from comet P/Brorsen-Metcalf (1989o)

In Sep. 1989, Very Large Array (VLA) searches were conducted for both formaldehyde (H2CO) and cyanoacetylene (HC3N) emission from Comet P/Brorsen-Metcalf (1989o). In early July, this comet was outgassing strongly at a brighter than average preperihelion rate, and the hope was that it would continue to do so through perihelion. By observing the 1 sub 11 to 1 sub 10 transition of H2CO at 4,829.659 MHz (6 cm lambda) during the phase of maximum outgassing, it was expected that spectra would be collected with a high signal to noise ratio which would show the temporal behavior of formaldehyde relative to other molecules. During this same observation period, a search was also made for the J-1-0, F-2-1 rotational transition of cyanoacetylene at 9098.3321 MHz (3.3 cm lambda).

Snyder, Lewis E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Carbon isotopes in comets

The progress is reported of high resolution spectra of selected bright comets with the aim of determining the carbon isotope abundance ratio, C-12/C-13. The ratio was determined for various Solar System objects (in the atmospheres of the giant planets, meteorites, the Earth, and the solar photosphere), where the C-12/C-13 = 89/1. In the interstellar medium, optical and radio observations give a range of C-12/C-13 = 43-67/1 depending on the observing techniques used and the specific interstellar cloud observed. The echelle spectra is presented of the CN(0,0) violet system in three comets: P/Brorsen-Metcalf, C/Okazaki-Levy-Rudenko, and C/Austin. P/Brorsen-Metcalf has a period of 70 y (prograde) compared with P/Halley which is 76 y (retrograde). The similar periods made P/Brorsen-Metcalf of special interest for comparison with P/Halley.

Wehinger, Peter A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Spectrum synthesis of CN in comets

The CN B-X (0-0) R branch fluorescence spectra for three comets (Austin, Bennett, Halley) were calculated and compared to the observed spectra. The synthesized spectrum in each case was shifted to allow for the comparison of the individual line intensities. The Swings effect (excitation of CN band in comet spectra by solar fluorescence) is clearly visible. In addition to the R(0-0) band in the CN spectrum, the P(1-1) band also contributes lines in the spectral region of observation. This branch was calculated and compared to P/Halley. The overall agreement between observations and the CN spectral model is quite good. An exception to this statement would be the high J rotation lines intensities within the R(0-0) branch of P/Halley. Additional analysis is necessary to determine if this difference is due to mechanisms in addition to fluorescence (e.g., collisions).

Kleine, Marvin↗
NASA NTRS1991

Sublimation rates of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from comet nuclei at large distances from the Sun

One of the more attractive among the plausible scenarios for the major emission event recently observed on Comet Halley at a heliocentric distance of 14.3 AU is activation of a source of ejecta driven by an icy substance much more volatile than water. As prerequisite for the forthcoming detailed analysis of the imaging observations of this event, a simple model is proposed that yields the sublimation rate versus time at any location on the surface of a rotating cometary nucleus for two candidate ices: carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The model's variable parameters are the comet's heliocentric distance r and the Sun's instantaneous zenith angle z.

Sekanina, Zdenek↗
NASA NTRS1991

Inner coma imaging of Comet Levy (1990c) with the Hubble Space Telescope

Observations of comet Levy were carried out with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on UT 27 Sep. 1990. The comet was imaged with the Wide Field Camera (WFC) through both red and blue filters, which were selected to isolate continuum emission peaking sharply at the nucleus. The longest exposures (4 sec) through the red filter had sufficient signal to noise that image deconvolution could be used to recover virtually the full spatial resolution of HST. These images reveal a fan-shaped inner coma in which the sunward-facing hemisphere is significantly brighter than the tailward hemisphere, consistent with volatile sublimation occurring primarily on the dayside of the nucleus.

Weaver, Harold A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Near-infrared observations of primitive asteroids and a possible extinct comet

Photometry was obtained simultaneously in the near-infrared and in the visible, of several D-type asteroids, thought to be composed of the most primordial material in the asteroid belt. These objects have been previously classified as D-type based on their low albedo and broadband colors in the visible region of the spectrum. One of the objects observed is 944 Hidalgo, which is possibly an extinct comet, based on its orbital elements. The photometry further constrains the surface mineralogy and is a test of whether differences exist between these objects in different regions of the asteroid belt. Refining the knowledge of the surface composition of these objects will allow a better measure of the amount of thermal processing which has taken place in these so-called primitive asteroids. Spectral slope is assumed to be sensitive to surface composition. There is some variability in spectral slope among those objects classified as D-type, with indications of increasing slope into the near-infrared with heliocentric distance. The spectral features are quite subtle as expected for these low albedo objects, but there is possible evidence of subtle features in some of the D-type asteroids and possibly some active comets. Further analysis of these spectra and the implications for the outer region of the asteroid belt is presented.

Howell, E. S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Distributed coma sources and the CH4/CO ratio in Comet Halley

Early analyses of the Ion Mass Spectrometer (IMS) data from the Giotto flyby of Comet P/Halley indicated significant abundances of CH(+) sub n (n = 1 to 4). The source of these ions was assumed to be frozen CH4 in the nucleus. An abundance of about 2 percent CH4 was consistent with this interpretation, resulting in a ratio of CH4/CO that is greater than the predicted limits for interstellar clouds or the solar nebula. However, subsequent analyses of data from the Giotto Neutral Mass Spectrometer indicate distributed sources of CO and H2CO in the coma that are most likely associated with organic (CHON) particles, rich in CH-bearing compounds that decay and produce CH(+) sub n species. A model is presented that qualitatively accounts for the measured spatial distribution of CO and H2CO, and indicates that most of the CH(+) sub n deduced from the Giotto IMS data may originate from organic compounds in the coma dust and not from volatiles released directly from the nucleus. As a consequence, the absence of CH4 in the icy phase of the nucleus is consistent with the observations with an upper limit of about 0.5 percent to the ratio CH4/CO. This is an important criterion for theories of comet formation.

Boice, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Comet dust as a source of amino acids at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary

It is suggested here that the large amounts of apparently extraterrestrial amino acids detected recently in rocks at the K/T boundary at Stevns Klint, Denmark were actually deposited with the dust from a giant comet trapped in the inner solar system, a fragment of which comprised the K/T impactor. Amino acids or their precursors in the comet dust would have been swept up by the earth both before and after the impact, but any conveyed by the impactor itself would have been destroyed. The observed amino acid layers would thus have been deposited without an impact.

Zahnle, Kevin↗
NASA NTRS1990

The production rate and spatial distribution of H2O for Comet P/Halley

Spectroscopic observations of the O I 1D lines for Comet P/Halley are used to derive water-production rates; 43 exposures during the period August 1985 to June 1986 are reduced. The reduction procedure involves sky subtraction, ratios with solar analog comparison stars, subtraction of contaminating NH2 emissions, and absolute flux calibration. The flux collected within the 2.5-arcsec-wide x 151-arcsec-long integration aperture is converted to a total comet O I 6300-A luminosity using a cometary gas outflow model. Water-production rates for 10 preperihelion dates and seven postperihelion dates are derived. An error budget yields an estimated uncertainty of + 30 percent in H2O production rates with a maximum error of + or - 50 percent. For the preperihelion period, a good fit of the water-production rate as a function of heliocentric distance can be obtained as Q(H2O) = 4.36 x 10 to the 29th x r exp -2.54. A postperihelion enhancement by about a factor of 1.8, which appears to dissipate by June 1986, is observed. Several values of enhanced water production agree well with the observed light curve of P/Halley. Comparison of H2O production rates with those deduced by other methods shows quite reasonable agreement.

Fink, Uwe↗
NASA NTRS1991

The spectrum of Comet Austin from 910 to 1180 A

A spectrum of Comet Austin (1988 c1) has been obtained from 910 to 1180 A. Three bright emission lines were detected, including a forbidden oxygen line (1128 A), which are attributable to radiative pumping of neutral oxygen by solar Lyman-beta. The relative strengths of the observed features should prove to be a useful diagnostic of the physical conditions and radiation fields in cometary comae. In addition, the absence of strong spectral features from highly volatile species such as He, Ar, or N2 can be used to place constraints on the thermal environment under which the comet was formed and has been processed.

Green, James C.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Organic matter in meteorites and comets - Possible origins

At least six extraterrestrial environments may have contributed organic compounds to meteorites and comets: solar nebula, giant-planet subnebulae, asteroid interiors containing liquid water, carbon star atmospheres, and diffuse or dark interstellar clouds. The record in meteorites is partly obscured by pervasive reheating that transformed much of the organic matter to kerogen; nonetheless, it seems that all six formation sites contributed. For comets, the large abundance of HCHO, HCN, and unsaturated hydrocarbons suggests an interstellar component of 50 percent or more, but the contributions of various interstellar processes, and of a solar-nebula component, are hard to quantify. A research program is outlined that may help reduce these uncertainties.

Anders, Edward↗
NASA NTRS1991

Cometary water-group ions in the region surrounding Comet Giacobini-Zinner - Distribution functions and bulk parameter estimates

The bulk parameters (number density and thermal energy density) of cometary water-group ions in the region surrounding Comet Giacobini-Zinner have been derived using data from the EPAS instrument on the ICE spacecraft. The derivation is based on the assumption that the pick-up ion distribution function is isotropic in the frame of the bulk flow, an approximation which has previously been shown to be reasonable within about 400,000 km of the comet nucleus along the spacecraft trajectory. The transition between the pick-up and mass-loaded regions occurs at the cometary shock, which was traversed at a cometocentric distance of about 100,000 km along the spacecraft track. Examination of the ion distribution functions in this region, transformed to the bulk flow frame, indicates the occurrence of a flattened distribution in the vicinity of the local pick-up speed, and a steeply falling tail at speeds above, which may be approximated as an exponential in ion speed.

Staines, K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Comet Halley remote plasma tail observations and in situ solar wind properties - Vega-1/2 IMF/plasma observations and ground-based optical observations from 1 December 1985 to 1 May 1986

General features of the solar wind plasma and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) are studied for the time period of December 1, 1985 - May 1, 1986. Characteristics studied include corotating events, shocks, and sector boundaries in the IMF. For the same period, Comet Halley was near its perihelion and many ground-based observations of the plasma tail were made. They show interesting events such as tail substorms and disconnection events where the whole distant plasma tail seems to be disrupted from the part that is still attached to the cometary head. Several mechanisms have been produced to explain the cause of these events. The correlation between the IMF sector boundaries measured by Vega and the observed disconnection events are studied, noting that such a correlation would support the dayside reconnection explanation. It is found that only in 50 percent of the considered events does a correlation between these two phenomena exist. For the other cases, a sector boundary of the IMF sweeping over the comet cannot explain the occurrence of disruptions of the main plasma tail.

Delva, Magda↗
NASA NTRS1991

A comet among the near-earth asteroids?

Using available optical and radar observations, orbital solutions have been computed for 12 near-earth asteroids identified as possible extinct comets. For 10 of these objects, there is no evidence for the nongravitational effects that might indicate residual outgassing activity. For 1862 Apollo and 1566 Icarus, the inclusion of cometlike nongravitational effects in their equations of motion significantly reduces their RMS residuals and flattens their systematic residual trends. For Icarus in particular, the determined radial nongravitational parameter retains the same value when different datasets are employed and the predictive capability of the orbits is improved. While these results do not prove that 1566 Icarus is a comet masquerading as an asteroid, future apparitions of this object should be monitored for possible cometlike activity.

Yeomans, D. K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

OH prompt emission in Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock (1983 VII)

Following Bertaux's (1986) suggestion that photodissociative OH fluorescence can furnish a direct measure of water-density distribution within about 100 km of the cometary nucleus, if sufficiently high spatial resolution is available, attention is presently given to IUE-obtained UV spectra of two comets which differ only as to effective spatial resolution, in order to search for OH prompt emission. IRAS-Araki-Alcock (1983 VII) and Tuttle (1980 XIII) spectra are compared at comparable heliocentric, but differing geocentric, distances; evidence is thereby obtained for OH prompt emission in Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock, whose implied water-production rate reflects an instantaneous value which may be compared with that derived from OH solar resonance fluorescence.

Budzien, S. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Primordial comet mantle - Irradiation production of a stable, organic crust

The thickness and survivability of a cosmic ray-generated primordial comet refractory mantle, or 'crust', are presently predicted by laboratory data and corrected estimates of cosmic ray dose to be capable of surviving a new comet's entry into the inner solar system over numerous revolutions. It is suggested that, since this mantle may be as much as several meters deep, the probe apparatus of the projected CRAF and Rosetta spacecraft will have to be extended in order to reach the desired, unprocessed cometary material. As things stand, there is a high probability that these missions will sample cometary matter than has been heavily irradiated and reprocessed in the Oort cloud.

Strazzulla, G.↗