Spitzer And IRTF Observations Of The Thermal Emission From Comet 2P/Encke

Details Spitzer And IRTF Observations Of The Thermal Emission From Comet 2P/Encke Spitzer And IRTF Observations Of The Thermal Emission From Comet 2P/Encke

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.1624f&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #16.24; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.416

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We present work on our continuing study to understand the physical properties of comet 2P/Encke's nucleus [1,2] and its activity behavior [3,4]. In this presentation we have combined results from three datasets to constrain the nucleus's effective radius, albedo, and thermal properties. In October and November 2003, we used the SpeX instrument on NASA/IRTF to obtain rotationally-resolved 0.8-to-2.5 micron spectra when the comet had its close approach to Earth [5]. Each SpeX spectrum shows featureless, red-sloped reflectance transitioning in K band into the nucleus's thermal emission. In July 2005, we used the IRS instrument aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope to obtain rotationally-resolved 8-to-14 micron spectra when the comet was 4.08 AU from the Sun, near aphelion. The spectra show a featureless thermal continuum with an absolute flux level that changes over the course of the rotation. We also obtained 16 and 22 micron imaging of the comet with IRS immediately before each spectrum. The comet shows a strong point source with no coma or tail (but with some faint trail along the orbit).
We will present our synergistic analysis of these datasets, and compare our nucleus results with those from earlier work [3,5,6]. We will also discuss what the nucleus's properties imply about this comet's aphelion activity, and the constraints that can be placed on aphelion dust. Furthermore we will place our results in the context of the comet's rotation state.
We thank the Spitzer Science Center and the NASA/IRTF for their support. References: [1] Fernandez, Y.R., et al. 2005, Icarus 175, 194. [2] Belton, M.J.S., et al. 2005, Icarus 175, 181. [3] Fernandez, Y.R., et al. 2000, Icarus 147, 145. [4] Meech, K.J., et al. 2001, BAAS 33, 1075 (abstract). [5] Fernandez, Y.R., et al. 2004, BAAS 36, 1117 (abstract). [6] Kelley, M.S., et al. 2006, ApJ 651, 1256.

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