The volatile composition of comets C 2009/P1 (Garradd) and C 2012/F6 (Lemmon) from ground-based radio observations
Abstract
Comets provide important clues to the physical and chemical processes that occurred during the formation and early evolution of the Solar System, and could also have been important for initiating prebiotic chemistry on the early Earth [1]. Comparing abundances and cosmogonic values (isotope and ortho:para (o/p) ratios) of cometary parent volatiles to those found in the interstellar medium, in disks around young stars, and between cometary families, is vital to understanding planetary system formation and the processing history experienced by organic matter in the so-called interstellar-comet connection [2]. A major observational challenge in cometary science is to quantify the extent to which chemical compounds can be linked to either the interstellar or nebular reservoirs. We report an analysis of ground-based radio observations towards comets C/2009 P1 (Garradd) and C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) to constrain the chemical history of these bodies.
- Publication:
-
European Planetary Science Congress
- Pub Date:
- September 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013EPSC....8..370G