Radioactive heating and layered structure of cometary nuclei

Details Radioactive heating and layered structure of cometary nuclei Radioactive heating and layered structure of cometary nuclei

Mar 1988

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1988em%26p...40..303y&link_type=abstract

Earth, Moon, and Planets (ISSN 0167-9295), vol. 40, March 1988, p. 303-313.

Computer Science

10

Comet Nuclei, Molecular Clouds, Nuclear Heat, Radioactive Isotopes, Thermal Radiation, Carbon Monoxide, Interstellar Matter, Molecular Diffusion, Nitrogen, Thermal Diffusivity

Scientific paper

Following the work of Whipple and Stefanik (1966), radioactive heating by uranium, thorium, and potassium of a cometary nucleus is discussed. The assumed composition is that of interstellar medium. If thermal diffusivity is 0.0001 sq cm/s, the central temperature of a nucleus with radius 10 km can be above 50 K, while if the thermal diffusivity is 0.005, the central temperature can be only 25 K or so. Volatile gases such as N2 and CO will flow toward the outer part of the nucleus and are lost in their first several approaches to the sun. This mechanism appears capable of explaining the depletion of N2 and CO relative to the interstellar abundance. It is argued that unfamiliar activity of comet Bowell could be explained by sublimation mainly of N2 and CO.

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