Observations of Carbon Dioxide in the Coma of Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd

Details Observations of Carbon Dioxide in the Coma of Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd Observations of Carbon Dioxide in the Coma of Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd

May 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011sptz.prop80082m&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #80082

Physics

Scientific paper

The study of cometary composition is important to understanding the formation and evolution of our solar system. Comets have undergone very little thermal evolution in their lifetimes, which results in their near pristine composition. The nucleus of a comet is very rarely detected directly. Instead, we observe the coma that surrounds the nucleus. Physical and chemical processes in the coma affect its composition, and therefore coma composition is not a direct representation of nuclear composition. An important trend is the observed variation of coma composition with heliocentric distance, most likely influenced by the volatility of the main surface ices, H2O, CO2, and CO. Infrared studies of these molecules are complicated by telluric features, so often daughter molecules of these species such as OH are observed instead. A potentially effective tracer for these primary ices is atomic oxygen in the coma. However, the relationship between these ices and atomic oxygen is only understood at a qualitative level. We propose to use Spitzer observations in IRAC's 4.5 micron band pass to observe the CO2 v3 band at 4.26 microns in comet C/2009 P1 Garradd. These observations will be coordinated with observations of atomic oxygen obtained at Apache Point Observatory and observations of H2O at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). These near simultaneous observations of H2O, CO2, and atomic oxygen in a cometary coma will increase our understanding of the link between these primary ices and atomic oxygen. With a complete understanding of the relationship between atomic oxygen and the primary ices on the nucleus, observations of atomic oxygen can serve as a powerful proxy for the production of these primary volatiles and aid our understanding of the variation in coma composition as a function of heliocentric distance, and therefore the composition of the nucleus and how our solar system was formed.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Observations of Carbon Dioxide in the Coma of Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Observations of Carbon Dioxide in the Coma of Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Observations of Carbon Dioxide in the Coma of Comet C/2009 P1 Garradd will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1207609