Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Feb 1994
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994a%26a...282..643m&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 282, no. 2, p. 643-656
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
46
Chemical Composition, Emission Spectra, Halley'S Comet, Line Spectra, Phenanthrene, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Spectral Signatures, Astronomical Spectroscopy, Chemical Evolution, Interstellar Matter, Laser Induced Fluorescence, Nebulae, Spectrometers, Vega Project, Comets, Halley, Spectroscopy, Spacecraft Observations, Vega 2 Mission, Emissions, Phenanthrene, Molecules, Fluorescence, Laboratory Studies, Comparison, Experiments, Intensity, Organic Material, Comae, Spectra, Excitation, Calculations, Pr
Scientific paper
New spectroscopic data obtained with the three-channel spectrometer of Vega 2 show, after subtracting the dust-scattered solar continuum, that a broad band emissive feature between 342 and 375 nm progressively arises. Four bands at 347, 356, 364 and 374 nm can be identified in this feature. The 1/p type intensity increase (p: projected distance between nucleus and line of sight) shows that the molecules responsible for the emission are most probably of the parent-type. A search for a molecule emitting fluorescence bands between 342 and 375 nm showed that phenanthrene was a possible candidate. A laser-induced fluorescence experiment was conducted in the laboratory to record the dispersed emission spectrum of phenanthrene under jet-cooled conditions. An excellent agreement was obtained between the cometary and laboratory spectra, for both the wavelength positions of the main peaks and their relative intensities. Present observations are coherent with the detection by IKS of an IR band at 3.28 nm assigned to an X-CH organic compound. The identification of a polycylic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) in Halley's comet emphasized the similarities between the material released by comets and diffuse interstellar nebulae. It adds a strong argument in favor of the fact that comets would be constituted of interstellar material.
Bréchignac Ph.
Clairemidi Jacques
Hermine P.
Moreels Guy
Rousselot Philippe
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