The striated dust tail of Comet West 1976 VI as a particle fragmentation phenomenon

Details The striated dust tail of Comet West 1976 VI as a particle fragmentation phenomenon The striated dust tail of Comet West 1976 VI as a particle fragmentation phenomenon

Nov 1980

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1980aj.....85.1538s&link_type=abstract

Astronomical Journal, vol. 85, Nov. 1980, p. 1538-1554.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

26

Comet Tails, Cosmic Dust, Fragmentation, Astronomical Photography, Charged Particles, Explosions, Particle Size Distribution, Time Response, Comets, Dust, Comet Tails, West Comet, Particles, Models, Observations, Data Reduction, Data, Striae, Position (Location), Dynamics, Ejecta, Distribution, Charged Particles

Scientific paper

The motions of 16 striae in the dust tail of Comet West are studied. It is found that all 16 striae have originated from particle ejections, and that the particles responsible for the formation of a discrete striae must be emitted simultaneously, be subjected to the same repulsive acceleration in the tail, and break up simultaneously. A strong correlation is found between the ejection times and the times of known explosive events. The repulsive accelerations of particle fragments in the striae vary from 0.6 to 2.7 times the solar attraction, indicating submicron grains of strongly absorbing materials. The repulsive acceleration of parent particles range from 0.55 to 1.10, which is only slightly smaller than those of their fragments and suggests highly nonspherical shapes of parents. The mass of dust in an average striae is estimated to be one-billion grams. Rotational bursting is discussed as a possible fragmentation mechanism. The absence of measurable effects of the Lorentz force indicate an upper limit of a few volts for the electric charge of the fragments.

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