Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.0502l&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #5.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.393
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
2
Scientific paper
We unambiguously detected the nucleus of comet 8P/Tuttle, a nearly-isotropic comet (NIC) in a 13.5 yr orbital period, during its recent close (0.25 AU) Earth encounter with the Planetary Camera 2 of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
The observations were performed from December 10.0 to 11.2, 2007, and consisted in 12 visits extending over a 28-hour period. At the mid-point of the observing window, the comet was 1.25 AU from the Sun , 0.48 AU from the Earth and at a phase angle of 46.6 deg. During each visit corresponding to an HST orbit, typically twelve images were obtained through five broadband filters (UBVRI). The light curve exhibits a complex shape best modeled by a bilobate body as evidenced by the radar observations of Harmon et al. (2008). We determined a synodic rotational period of 11.4 hr. Assuming the same albedo of 0.04 for the two lobes, we found respective radii of 1.2 km and 2.8 km. During the HST observations, the nucleus was at an aspect angle (between spin axis and line of sight) of 65 deg.
A'Hearn Michael F.
Groussin Olivier
Jorda Laurent
Lamy Philippe L.
Toth Ignác
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