Reduction and analysis of photometric data on Comet Halley

Details Reduction and analysis of photometric data on Comet Halley Reduction and analysis of photometric data on Comet Halley

Aug 1988

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1988plas.rept...15b&link_type=abstract

In NASA, Washington, Reports of Planetary Astronomy, p 15 (SEE N89-16624 08-89)

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Brightness, Data Reduction, Halley'S Comet, Photometry, Rotation, Time Series Analysis, Comet Nuclei, Cometary Atmospheres, Magnitude

Scientific paper

The discovery that periodic variations in the brightness of Comet Halley were characterized by two unrelated frequencies implies that the nucleus is in a complex state of rotation. It either nutates as a result of the random addition of small torque perturbations accumulated over many perihelion passages, or the jet activity torques are so strong that it precesses wildly at each perihelion passage. To diagnose the state of nuclear rotation, researchers began a program to acquire photometric time series of the comet as it recedes from the sun. The intention is to observe the decay of the comet's atmosphere and then, when it is unemcumbered by the light of the coma, follow the light variation of the nucleus itself. The latter will be compared with preperihelion time series and the orientation of the nucleus at the time of Vega and Giotto flybys and an accurate rotational ephemeris constructed. Halley was observed on 38 nights during 1987 and approximately 21 nights in 1988. The comet moved from 5 AU to 8.5 AU during this time. The brightness of the coma was found to rapidly decrease in 1988 as the coma and cometary activity collapses. The magnitude in April 1988 was 19 mag (visual) and it is predicted that the nucleus itself will be the major contributor to the brightness in the 1988 and 1989 season.

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