C/Hale-Bopp (1995 O1) at 27 AU

Details C/Hale-Bopp (1995 O1) at 27 AU C/Hale-Bopp (1995 O1) at 27 AU

Mar 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008sptz.prop50066f&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #50066

Physics

Scientific paper

Comet C/1995 O1 Hale-Bopp (hereafter HB) was one of the most active comets of all time when it passed perihelion in April 1997. During Cycle 5 it will be at a heliocentric distance (r) over 27 AU. Remarkably, the comet is still bright enough for visible and infrared study. This represents an utterly unique chance to observe a comet at extremely high heliocentric distance. Our scientific goals are to: (A) resolve the long-standing controversy of how large HB's nucleus really is, (B) measure HB's current activity level and dust production rate, and (C) use these two parameters in conjunction with earlier measurements of gas and dust production rates to understand the structure of the ice and flow of energy through the nucleus. In addition we will (D) use dynamical modeling of the dust to constrain grain sizes, grain speeds, and source regions on the nucleus. But the basic question we wish to answer is: Why is HB so active so far from the Sun? This program requests 2 AORS of MIPS photometry for a total of 2.9 hours of observing time.

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