The Spatial Distributions of Volatile Species in the Comae of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Obtained From High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopic Observations

Details The Spatial Distributions of Volatile Species in the Comae of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Obtained From High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopic Observations The Spatial Distributions of Volatile Species in the Comae of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Obtained From High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopic Observations

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.0306v&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #03.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.485

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

The close encounter of Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 with Earth in May 2006 allowed for high-resolution infrared spectroscopic measurements with excellent spatial resolution. At the same time, the on-going disruption of 73P has led to two fragments (the primary C and secondary B) that are productive enough to yield molecular detections with high signal-to-noise ratios. Taken together, these two factors provided a unique opportunity to examine the chemical heterogeneity within a comet nucleus through the detailed analysis of observations of two distinct fragments. Such an analysis is important in understanding the nature of Jupiter-family comets such as 73P, which are underrepresented in current cometary molecular surveys.
We will present the spatial distributions of several volatile species in the comae of 73P-B and 73P-C inferred from observations using the CSHELL (IRTF) and NIRSPEC (Keck II) spectrometers. CSHELL measurements were obtained on UT May 9.5, 2006, and NIRSPEC observations were made on UT May 14.5 and 15.6, 2006. The implications of the spatial distributions, in terms of overall morphology as well as variability among species and between the two fragments, will be discussed. A related presentation at this meeting by Dello Russo et al. will report the production rates, relative abundances, and rotational temperatures of the species in the comae of 73P-B and 73P-C obtained from the same observations.
This work was supported by the NASA Planetary Atmospheres and Planetary Astronomy Programs.

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