Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996dps....28.0927m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #28, #09.27; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 28, p.1093
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
On March 25, 1996, we observed comet C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) from Kitt Peak National Observatory (NOAO). We used the echelle spectrograph on the 4 m Cassegrain telescope and obtained spectra at a spectral resolution of 17,500 (Delta lambda ~ 0.2 Angstroms ). Employing a UV-sensitive CCD (F3KB) we were able to cover the spectral range from 3000 Angstroms up to about 4700 Angstroms . Very recently, in late July, we conducted a similar study of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) on Mauna Kea. There we used the Keck I telescope (10 m) with the High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES). The spectral resolution was 45,000. High resolution spectra are the key to any theoretical model that tries to explain cometary emission lines quantitatively. We present selected bands of OH, NH, CN and CH, and compare with theoretical models. We will discuss the detectability of rare isotopes in these bands. Although the CH bands of comet Hyakutake were relatively weak we detected both the A-X and B-X system and derived a temperature for the CH X-state. At the time we observed comet C/Hyakutake the comet was at perigee with Delta ~ 0.1 AU which corresponded to a spatial scale of only 70 km arcsec(-1) . The intrinsically high activity of the comet combined with the proximity to the earth rendered C/Hyakutake an ideal target to search for short-lived and so far undetected species. As part of our work in progress we will also briefly address our efforts to search for short-lived species which are usually not observable at larger geocentric distances because their slit-size averaged signal is too low.
A'Hearn Michael F.
Kim Jai Sam
Meier Robert R.
Owen Theodore
Wellnitz Dennis D.
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