NASA NTRS1994
The Neutral Mass Spectrometer on the Giotto spacecraft measured the gas and ion composition in the coma of comet P/Halley. A detailed model of the ion chemistry inside the contact surface located at 4660 km is used to interpret the measured ion desnity profiles in the 32 to 35 amu/e mass range. The masses 33 and 35 amu/e are dominated by the protonated methanol and hydrogen sulfide ions CH3OH2(+) and H3S(+). Both profiles are essentially compatible with CH3OH and H2S originating from the nucleus only. The production rates relative to water are Y(CH3OH) = Q(CH3OH)/Q(H2O) = 1.7% and Y(H2S) = 0.41%. Our Y(CH3OH) agrees well with a determination from IR spectra obtained about 6 weeks after the Giotto encounter with P/Halley. In 7 other comets IR and microwave observations give Y(CH3OH) values between about 0.7 and 6%, indicating that the methanol abundance shows a strong variability from comet to comet. In three other comets Y(H2S) values between 0.2 and 0.5% have been reported. In addition to H2S(+), only ions containing minor isotopes of H, C, O and S contribute to mass 34 amu/e (e.g. (34)S(+), (13)CH3OH2(+), CH4DO(+)). These contributions can be calculated from the measured densities of the ions containing the major isotopes and the H2S(+) contribution from the measured H3S(+) density. From mass 34 amu/e we can also derive an upper limit of 1% for the abundance of deuterated methanol. This limit is at most marginally compatible with a direct interstellar origin of the CH3OH in P/Halley as the measured interstellar abundance of deuterated methanol is 1 to 6%.