Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.2302s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #23.02
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We obtained a unique sequence of high resolution, wide-field images of the spectacular outbursting Jupiter family comet 17P/Holmes. Our data were obtained UT 2007 November 6, 8-15 using MegaCam, an instrument with a square-degree field of view, mounted on the 3.6-m diameter Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. By spatially-filtering our images with a Lorentzian filter we were able to suppress the coma and to identify faint, small-scale features, including a set of 16 discrete fragments. The fragments ranged in magnitude from 17.6 to 20.4 at the time of first detection and were observed to migrate radially outwards from the nucleus at relative velocities between 35 m/s and 112 m/s. The fragments appear too bright for each to be monolithic pieces. Instead, we infer that the 16 objects are actively outgassing cometesimals expelled from the main nucleus near the time of the initial outburst. We estimate sizes 10 m - 110 m for the fragments, and measure secular fading on timescales of days presumably due to a loss of volatiles. Our findings support the hypothesis that a large fragment of material broke away from the nucleus and crumbled, expelling small, icy fragments. Since cometary outbursts are typically observed serendipitously weeks or months after the fact, and rarely with sensitive, large aperture telescopes, our observations provide an unusual insight into the immediate aftermath of a major outburst.
Jewitt David
Kleyna Jan
Stevenson Rachel
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