A model for the coma of Comet Halley, based on the Astron ultraviolet spectrophotometry
Abstract
The development of a model of the Comet Halley coma from spectral and photometric data is described. Spectra in the 1500-3500 A range and photometric scans at the 3085 A and 2190 A in the (0-0) band of the OH and CO(+) molecules were obtained by the UV telescope of the satellite Astron on December 3, 13, and 23, 1985. Surface-brightness profiles of the coma in the (0-0) band of OH, NH, and CS molecules are derived. The source and formation of these molecules, the lifetime of their radicals, the radial velocity of their parent molecules, and the water-molecule sublimation rate are computed and examined. The basic characteristics of the comet observed from the UV data are compared to the properties of other comets. It is observed that Comet Halley is similar to other large short-period comets.
- Publication:
-
Pisma v Astronomicheskii Zhurnal
- Pub Date:
- October 1986
- Bibcode:
- 1986PAZh...12..696B
- Keywords:
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- Astronomical Models;
- Cometary Atmospheres;
- Halley'S Comet;
- Satellite Observation;
- Ultraviolet Spectroscopy;
- Atmospheric Composition;
- Comet Nuclei;
- Solar Activity Effects;
- Astrophysics