Soft X-ray Emission Scenarios of Comet 46P/Wirtanen for its 2018 Apparition in Accordance with HXMT Observation

Comet 46P/Wirtanen was the original destination of the Rosetta mission but replaced by Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko soon after the launch delay in 2003. As a result, the research work about Comet 46P has been very limited over the past decade. In this December, 46P will reach its perihelion ( 1.05 AU) making a very close approach to Earth with the comet-earth distance about 30 times of earth-moon distance. It is predicted to reach naked-eye brightness around this great apparition due to its hyperactivity, which provides an excellent opportunity to study it in detail. The Insight-HXMT (Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope) is the first Chinese X-ray astronomy satellite and will be used to observe as a target of opportunity. Models and simulation works of the X-ray emission of 46P as a result of solar-wind interaction during the close approach phase to be presented in this work would greatly assist the design of the HXMT observations and subsequent data analysis. The observational procedure and data processing pipeline established also will be invaluable for future mission opportunities.