Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996hst..prop.6634l&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #6634
Physics
Hst Proposal Id #6634 Solar System
Scientific paper
We propose Planetary Camera observations of comet46P/Wirtanen, which is the target of the approved ROSETTArendezvous mission, the third cornerstone of the ESA Horizon2000 program. Except for a few photographic "nuclear"magnitudes which suggest a radius of 1.6 km (assuming analbedo of 0.04), little is known about the properties of itsnucleus and it is of utmost importance to attempt tocharacterize it to the fullest possible extent. Unfortunately,comet 46P/Wirtanen will not come close to the Earth during thenext decade so that the only possible approach to studying thenucleus consists in observing it at large heliocentricdistances when the activity is very low. The high spatialresolution offered by the Planetary Camera ( 100 km for 2pixels) and its high sensitivity will allow us to detect anyfaint coma and substract it with minimal assumptions. Wepropose to measure the V and R magnitudes of the nucleus inorder to derive its color, and we plan to study its rotationalproperties by measuring its projected cross sections as afunction of time. We have an approved program to observe thenucleus of comet 46P/Wirtanen with ISOCAM in the thermalinfrared so that we shall derive its albedo and in turn itssize with very minimal asumptions by combining HST and ISOobservations. Should structures be detected in the faint coma,we shall map the sources of dust on the nucleus. Thedetermination of these basic properties is essential for thepreparation of the ROSETTA mission.
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