Sign on

SAO/NASA ADS Astronomy Abstract Service

· Find Similar Abstracts (with default settings below)
· Electronic On-line Article (HTML)
· Table of Contents
· Also-Read Articles (Reads History)
·
· Translate This Page
Title:
Reservoirs for Comets: Compositional Differences Based on Infrared Observations
Authors:
Disanti, Michael A.; Mumma, Michael J.
Affiliation:
AA(Solar System Exploration Division, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center), AB(Solar System Exploration Division, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center)
Publication:
Origin and Early Evolution of Comet Nuclei, Space Sciences Series of ISSI, Volume 28. ISBN 978-0-387-85454-0. Springer Science+Business Media, BV, 2009, p. 127
Publication Date:
00/2009
Origin:
SPRINGER
DOI:
10.1007/978-0-387-85455-7_8
Bibliographic Code:
2009oeec.book..127D

Abstract

Tracing measured compositions of comets to their origins continues to be of keen interest to cometary scientists and to dynamical modelers of Solar System formation and evolution. This requires building a taxonomy of comets from both present-day dynamical reservoirs: the Kuiper Belt (hereafter KB), sampled through observation of ecliptic comets (primarily Jupiter Family comets, or JFCs), and the Oort cloud (OC), represented observationally by the long-period comets and by Halley Family comets (HFCs). Because of their short orbital periods, JFCs are subjected to more frequent exposure to solar radiation compared with OC comets. The recent apparitions of the JFCs 9P/Tempel 1 and 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 permitted detailed observations of material issuing from below their surfaces—these comets added significantly to the compositional database on this dynamical class, which is under-represented in studies of cometary parent volatiles. This chapter reviews the latest techniques developed for analysis of high-resolution spectral observations from ˜2-5 μm, and compares measured abundances of native ices among comets. While no clear compositional delineation can be drawn along dynamical lines, interesting comparisons can be made. The sub-surface composition of comet 9P, as revealed by the Deep Impact ejecta, was similar to the majority of OC comets studied. Meanwhile, 73P was depleted in all native ices except HCN, similar to the disintegrated OC comet C/1999 S4 (LINEAR). These results suggest that 73P may have formed in the inner giant planets' region while 9P formed farther out or, alternatively, that both JFCs formed farther from the Sun but with 73P forming later in time.
Bibtex entry for this abstract   Preferred format for this abstract (see Preferences)
   

Find Similar Abstracts:

Use: Authors
Title
Abstract Text
Return: Query Results Return    items starting with number
Query Form
Database: Astronomy
Physics
arXiv e-prints