Mid-Infrared Observation with the SUBARU Telescope Reveals the Nature of a Large-Scale Dust Plume Induced by the Deep Impact Collision

Details Mid-Infrared Observation with the SUBARU Telescope Reveals the Nature of a Large-Scale Dust Plume Induced by the Deep Impact Collision Mid-Infrared Observation with the SUBARU Telescope Reveals the Nature of a Large-Scale Dust Plume Induced by the Deep Impact Collision

Dec 2005

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005dps....37.4412s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #37, #44.12; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 37, p.1568

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We conducted both imaging and spectroscopic observation of 9P/Tempel 1 comet before and after the Deep Impact (DI) collision event using the SUBARU telescope in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) wavelengths. We obtained high-resolution spatial distribution of mid-IR light intensity, spectral energy density over a wide range of wavelength coverage (8.8 - 24.5um), and low-resolution N-band spectroscopic data (R 250). Such data are complimentary to the spacecraft observation and provide crucial information in understanding the impact event. We observed a rapid development of large ( ˜ 103 km) fan-shaped dust plume in the 225 degrees PA direction from the comet nucleus. The dust plume exhibits strong 10um silicate feature, indicating the presence of fine-grain (sub-um to um) silicate. The size distribution of the silicate dust is rather similar to that of Oort-cloud comets and contains a large mass fraction of crystalline silicate. The total dust mass in the plume is estimated to be 7 - 9 x 105 kg, indicating that the impact heating can crystallize only a very small fraction (< 1%) of the mass. The observed large total dust mass and the presence of two dust mass concentrations around 45 degrees from the symmetry axis of the plume are qualitatively consistent with a standard crater formation model. The inner part of the plume, however, exhibits a dust concentration profile inversely proportional to the radial distance from the nucleus and a unimodal angular distribution centered around 225 degrees PA, which are not consistent with such a model. This rather ambivalent observation result as well as two time constants in light flux decay curve strongly suggests that DI collision excavated volatile-rich fresh cometary material.

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