Cosmic dust and the comet connection

Details Cosmic dust and the comet connection Cosmic dust and the comet connection

Sep 1984

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1984s%26t....68..206k&link_type=abstract

Sky and Telescope (ISSN 0037-6604), vol. 68, Sept. 1984, p. 206-210.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

1

Comets, Cosmic Dust, Interplanetary Medium, Solar System, Astronomical Models, Comet Nuclei, Comet Tails, Halley'S Comet, Morphology, Vega Project, Comets, Cosmic Dust, Interplanetary Dust, Comet Tails, Composition, Popular, Diagrams, Photographs, Brownlee Particles, Spectra, Gases, Comparisons, Comet Nuclei, Halley, West, Humason, Kohoutek, Models, Hypotheses, History, Observations, Astronomy

Scientific paper

Spacecraft flybys, direct collection at earth, and new instrumentation for earth-based telescopes may soon make it possible to interpret the physical and chemical properties of fine cometary dust particles. Spectral studies have shown that a comet's diffuse curved tail reveals a solar spectrum probably due to sunlight reflected by particles approximately one micron in size. Model studies have shown that a distant comet may be a solid mixture of ices and granular rocky material without a tail. As the comet approaches the sun, longer infrared wavelengths reflect falling dust temperatures, and only silicates seem to emit strongly. The dust may be mainly made up of Si with Mg and Fe, and O. The rest of the nucleus may be composed of H2O, CO2, CO and perhaps CH4 and NH3. Interplanetary dust collected by the Helios spacecraft reveals a low density, fragile structure, and chemical analysis of bright meteors shows a similarity to carbonaceous chondrites. Because of interstellar dust resembling in some aspects the silicate structure of comets, and because these particles are found in regions of recent star formation, the question is raised whether comets containing this dust could be forming at such locations. Missions to Halley's comet in 1986 by ESA's Giotto spacecraft, and the Soviet Union's Vega spacecraft are outlined.

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