The spin state and homogeneity of Comet Halley's nucleus

Details The spin state and homogeneity of Comet Halley's nucleus The spin state and homogeneity of Comet Halley's nucleus

Oct 1991

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991icar...93..183b&link_type=abstract

Icarus (ISSN 0019-1035), vol. 93, Oct. 1991, p. 183-193.

Physics

62

Comet Nuclei, Halley'S Comet, Satellite Imagery, Spin Dynamics, Giotto Mission, Homogeneity, Vega Project

Scientific paper

The present model of the spin rate of Comet Halley, which takes the form of an excited, axially symmetric rotator with prolate spheroid shape, accommodates both the imaging data from the Vega and Giotto encounters and a range of ground-based data for CN jets and shells, C2 production rates, and photometric variability. The model ratio of moments-of-inertia maxima to minima, at 2.28, implies a nearly constant density distribution throughout its interior. One of the five localized areas on the nucleus which dominate the activity observed appears to be uniquely responsible for the initiation of CN-shell boundaries which propagate through the coma, and may be indicative of either large-scale chemical inhomogeneity or a surface region with unusual physical structure.

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