Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Dec 1995
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995a%26a...304..296s&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics, v.304, p.296
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
17
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, Nuclear Size, Fragmentation, Hubble Space Telescope, Image Analysis
Scientific paper
Digital maps of the central regions of 13 nuclear condensations of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, obtained with the Wide Field Planetary Camera-2 of the Hubble Space Telescope on January 24-25, March 28-30, and July 4, 1994, were analyzed with the aim to identify the presence of distinct, major fragments in each condensation, to deconvolve their contributions to the signal that also includes the contribution from a surrounding cloud of dust (modeled as an extended source, using two different laws), to estimate the dimensions of the fragments and to study their temporal variations, and to determine the spatial distributions of the fragments as projected onto the plane of the sky. The deconvolution method applied is described, an extensive analysis of the errors involved is presented, and the results are summarized. They include the finding that sizable fragments did survive until the time of atmospheric entry. This result does not contradict evidence of the comet's continuing, apparently spontaneous fragmentation, which still went on long after the extremely close approach to Jupiter in July 1992 and which, because of the Jovian tidal effects, may even have intensified in the final days before the crash on Jupiter. On plausible assumptions regarding the geometric albedo and the phase coefficient, the largest fragments are found to have had effective diameters of ~4km as late as March and even early July 1994. In most condensations, several sizable companions (~1km or more across) have been detected within ~1000km of the projected location of the brightest fragment, and the surrounding dust cloud has been found to be centered on a point that is shifted in the general direction of the tail, most probably due to effects of solar radiation pressure.
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