Disintegrating Comet 108P/Ciffreo
Abstract
As was first noticed on 2022 January 2, the short-period (Kuiper belt) comet 108P/Ciffreo is undergoing a fragmentation event. In low-resolution ground-based data, the ejected fragments appear only as a diffuse, low surface brightness blob separated from the main nucleus. Given such data, neither photometric nor dynamical studies are possible. We propose early-time measurements at the high angular resolution offered by HST to characterize these embedded fragments in terms of their brightness and velocity distributions, with the aim being to determine the process behind the fragmentation. Three orbits are requested to determine the sky-plane motion of the fragments so that their velocities and ejection dates can be determined. Cometary fragmentation events are both unpredictable and short-lived and, as a result, few have been studied in detail. DDT observations are needed to obtain data while the fragment swarm is fresh and before it dissipates and fades.
- Publication:
-
HST Proposal
- Pub Date:
- January 2022
- Bibcode:
- 2022hst..prop16904J