Other
Scientific paper
Oct 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007dps....39.2103k&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #39, #21.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.449
Other
Scientific paper
As a Planetary Data System College Student Investigator, I analyze images from the Deep Impact mission. In this poster, we present results from our analysis of radial profiles of cometary ejecta from the Deep Impact mission. The primary goal of the Deep Impact mission was to collect information about structure and composition of the nucleus of comet 9P/Tempel 1 to explain the evolution and development of comets. The time sequence of images obtained by the Medium Resolution Instrument after the impact allows us to determine variations in the properties of the cometary ejecta that reflect differences in the cometary nucleus. Specifically, we study variations in the brightness and the optical depth of the ejecta. To analyze these images and obtain the optical depth, we compared the brightness of the cometary edge before and after impact. This allowed us to understand how much the ejecta was blocking the edge. After analyzing the images, we have found that the ejecta have non-monotonic variations in optical depth. This suggests stratification of different materials inside the nucleus of comet 9P/Tempel 1, assuming that the ejecta originated from sequentially lower layers in the cometary nucleus. More detailed compositional variations inside the nucleus can be determined through the simultaneous analysis of the brightness and optical depth of the ejecta. With a better understanding of the cometary layering, we can shed light on cometary evolution. The layering may help discover where sublimation of volatiles and displacement of other materials occur, when the comet makes periodic revolutions around the Sun.
This work is funded by NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) College Student Investigator (CSI) program.
A'Hearn Michael F.
King Ashley
Kolokolova Ludmilla
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