The Spatial Distribution of OH and CN Radicals in the Coma of Comet Encke

Details The Spatial Distribution of OH and CN Radicals in the Coma of Comet Encke The Spatial Distribution of OH and CN Radicals in the Coma of Comet Encke

Nov 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011apj...741...89i&link_type=abstract

The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 741, Issue 2, article id. 89 (2011).

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

1

Astrochemistry, Comets: General, Comets: Individual: Encke, Molecular Processes

Scientific paper

Multiple potential parent species have been proposed to explain CN abundances in comet comae, but the parent has not been definitively identified for all comets. This study examines the spatial distribution of CN radicals in the coma of comet Encke and determines the likelihood that CN is a photodissociative daughter of HCN in the coma. Comet Encke is the shortest orbital period (3.3 years) comet known and also has a low dust-to-gas ratio based on optical observations. Observations of CN were obtained from 2003 October 22 to 24, using the 2.7 m telescope at McDonald Observatory. To determine the parent of CN, the classical vectorial model was modified by using a cone shape in order to reproduce Encke's highly aspherical and asymmetric coma. To test the robustness of the modified model, the spatial distribution of OH was also modeled. This also allowed us to obtain CN/OH ratios in the coma. Overall, we find the CN/OH ratio to be 0.009 ± 0.004. The results are consistent with HCN being the photodissociative parent of CN, but we cannot completely rule out other possible parents such as CH3CN and HC3N. We also found that the fan-like feature spans ~90°, consistent with the results of Woodney et al..

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

The Spatial Distribution of OH and CN Radicals in the Coma of Comet Encke does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with The Spatial Distribution of OH and CN Radicals in the Coma of Comet Encke, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Spatial Distribution of OH and CN Radicals in the Coma of Comet Encke will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-980467