X-ray and Optical Observations of 55/PTempel-Tuttle

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We were awarded 60k-sec of observing time on the ASCA X-ray satellite to observe 55P/Tempel-Tuttle with the Solid-state Imaging Spectrometer (SIS) near its January 17, 1998 perigee approach ( Delta = 0.36 AU, r=1.19 AU). The SIS energy resolution for photon energies near a keV is on the order of E/Delta E~10, allowing for differentiation of single element from continuum contributions to X-ray emission, with a sufficiently strong detection. The observations were divided into three 20k-sec observation blocks on 1/19, 1/23, and 1/28. We also carried out nearly simultaneous optical exposures from the ground for the 1/23 exposure set. These observations were taken at the UH 2.2m telescope on 1/22, 1/23 and 1/24 in order to monitor dust production to examine how well this correlates with X-ray emission activity. A total of 126 30-second exposures were taken in open-filtered and in the Kron-Cousins BVRI bandpasses. During the night of the 23rd, the coma extended roughly 30'' (10(4) km) from the nucleus, which was within ASCA's half power diameter of 3 arcmin. We will present surface brightness plots and provide estimates of dust production rates from these images along with the ASCA data results. It is our intention to examine whether a correlation appears in our observations between dust production and content in the comet's coma and the measured X-ray flux as observations of other comets with EUVE seemed to have indicated.

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