Changes in Cometary Rotation: Predictions, Correlations, and Trends
Abstract
Previously Samarasinha & Mueller (2013) related changes of cometary rotation to other physical parameters for four Jupiter family comets, and two additional comets were added in a subsequent paper (Mueller & Samarasinha 2018) confirming the stated relationship, albeit with increased scatter. Predicted changes in the rotation periods for a sample of 24 periodic comets were derived. We identify comets from this sample that are most likely to show observationally detectable changes in their rotation periods. We also found a correlation between the total water production per unit surface area per orbit approximated by that inside of 4 au and the perihelion distance. This relationship enables ready comparisons of activity due to insolation between comets. Additionally, a trend between the nuclear radius and the rotation period was found. Specifically, we found that on average smaller nuclei have smaller rotation periods compared to the rotation periods of larger nuclei. This result provides strong observational evidence for sublimation-driven changes in cometary rotation. The research we will present is based on our accepted paper to the Astronomical Journal (Mueller & Samarasinha 2018). We gratefully acknowledge support from the NASA Planetary Astronomy Program. References: Samarasinha, N.H., & Mueller, B.E.A. 2013. Relating changes in cometary rotation to activity: Current status and applications to Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON). Astrophys. J. Letters 775, article id. L10, 6pp. Mueller, B.E.A., & Samarasinha, N.H. 2018. Further investigation of changes in cometary rotation. Astronomical Journal, in press. http://arxiv.org/abs/1806.11158
- Publication:
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AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #50
- Pub Date:
- October 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018DPS....5010604M