Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userObservations of the long-lasting activity of the distant Comets 29P Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, C/2003 WT42 (LINEAR) and C/2002 VQ94 (LINEAR)
68
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
We investigated three comets, which are active at large heliocentric distances, using observations obtained at the 6-m BTA telescope (SAO RAS, Russia) in the photometric mode of the focal reducer SCORPIO. The three comets, 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, C/2003 WT42 (LINEAR), and C/2002 VQ94 (LINEAR), were observed after their perihelion passages at heliocentric distances between 5.5 and 7.08 AU. The dust production rates in terms of Afrho was measured for these comets. Using the retrieved values, an average dust production rate was derived under different model assumptions. A tentative calculation of the total mass loss of the comet nucleus within a certain observation period was executed. We calculated the corresponding thickness of the depleted uppermost layer where high-volatile ices completely sublimated. The results obtained in our study strongly support the idea that the observed activity of Comet SW1 requires a permanent demolition of the upper surface layers.
rate research
Read More
We present an analysis of the results of photometric investigations of two distant comets, C/2002 VQ94 (LINEAR) and 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, obtained with the 6m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The comets under study demonstrate sufficient activity out of the zone of water ice sublimation (at heliocentric distances longer than 5 AU). In the spectra of the investigated comets, we found the CO+ and N2+ emission. The presence of this emission may say that the comets were formed in the outer parts of the Solar System, in a protoplanetary cloud at a temperature <=25 K. We found that the photometric maximum of the ionosphere (in the CO+ filter) of the comet C/2002 VQ94 (LINEAR) is shifted relative to the photometric center of the dust coma by 1.4 arcsec (7.44*10^3 km) in the direction deflected by 63 deg from the direction to the Sun. Using special filters to process the images, we picked out active structures (jets) in the dust coma of the 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 comet.
Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) are the evolutionary products of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) that evolve through the giant planet region as Centaurs and into the inner solar system. Through numerical orbital evolution calculations following a large number of TNO test particles that enter the Centaur population, we have identified a short-lived dynamical Gateway, a temporary low-eccentricity region exterior to Jupiter through which the majority of JFCs pass. We apply an observationally based size distribution function to the known Centaur population and obtain an estimated Gateway region population. We then apply an empirical fading law to the rate of incoming JFCs implied by the the Gateway region residence times. Our derived estimates are consistent with observed population numbers for the JFC and Gateway populations. Currently, the most notable occupant of the Gateway region is 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 (SW1), a highly active, regularly outbursting Centaur. SW1s present-day, very-low-eccentricity orbit was established after a 1975 Jupiter conjunction and will persist until a 2038 Jupiter conjunction doubles its eccentricity and pushes its semi-major axis out to its current aphelion. Subsequent evolution will likely drive SW1s orbit out of the Gateway region, perhaps becoming one of the largest JFCs in recorded history. The JFC Gateway region coincides with a heliocentric distance range where the activity of observed cometary bodies increases significantly. SW1s activity may be typical of the early evolutionary processing experienced by most JFCs. Thus, the Gateway region, and its most notable occupant SW1, are critical to both the dynamical and physical transition between Centaurs and JFCs.
We carried out photometric and spectroscopic observations of comet 29P/ Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 at the SOAR 4.1-meter telescope (Chile) on August 12, 2016. This paper presents the results of only spectroscopic analysis. The spectra revealed presence of CO$^+$ and N$_2^+$ emissions in the cometary coma at a distance of 5.9 AU from the Sun. The ratio [N$_2^+$]/[CO$^+$] within the projected slit seems to be 0.01. We have also estimated spectral gradient value for the comet.
On May 23, 2006 we used the ACIS-S instrument on the Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) to study the X-ray emission from the B fragment of comet 73P/2006 (Schwassmann-Wachmann 3) (73P/B). We obtained a total of 20 ks of CXO observation time of Fragment B, and also investigated contemporaneous ACE and SOHO solar wind physical data. The CXO data allow us to spatially resolve the detailed structure of the interaction zone between the solar wind and the fragments coma at a resolution of ~ 1,000 km, and to observe the X-ray emission due to multiple comet--like bodies. We detect a change in the spectral signature with the ratio of the CV/OVII line increasing with increasing collisional opacity as predicted by Bodewits e (2007). The line fluxes arise from a combination of solar wind speed, the species that populate the wind and the gas density of the comet. We are able to understand some of the observed X-ray morphology in terms of non-gravitational forces that act upon an actively outgassing comets debris field. We have used the results of the Chandra observations on the highly fragmented 73P/B debris field to re-analyze and interpret the mysterious emission seen from comet C/1999 S4 (LINEAR) on August 1st, 2000, after the comet had completely disrupted. We find the physical situations to be similar in both cases, with extended X-ray emission due to multiple, small outgassing bodies in the field of view. Nevertheless, the two comets interacted with completely different solar winds, resulting in distinctly different spectra.
We present mid-infrared spectra and images from the GEMINI-N (+Michelle) observations of fragments SW3-[B] and SW3-[C] of the ecliptic (Jupiter Family) comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 pre-perihelion. We observed fragment B soon after an outburst event (between 2006 April 16 - 26 UT) and detected crystalline silicates. The mineralogy of both fragments was dominated by amorphous carbon and amorphous pyroxene. The grain size distribution (assuming a Hanner modified power-law) for fragment SW3-[B] has a peak grain radius of a_p ~ 0.5 micron, and for fragment SW3-[C], a_p ~ 0.3 micron; both values larger than the peak grain radius of the size distribution for the dust ejected from ecliptic comet 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact event (a_p = 0.2 micron. The silicate-to-carbon ratio and the silicate crystalline mass fraction for the submicron to micron-size portion of the grain size distribution on the nucleus of fragment SW3-[B] was 1.341 +0.250 -0.253 and 0.335 +0.089 -0.112, respectively, while on the nucleus of fragment SW3-[C] was 0.671 +0.076 -0.076 and 0.257 +0.039 -0.043, respectively. The similarity in mineralogy and grain properties between the two fragments implies that 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is homogeneous in composition. The slight differences in grain size distribution and silicate-to-carbon ratio between the two fragments likely arises because SW3-[B] was actively fragmenting throughout its passage while the activity in SW3-[C] was primarily driven by jets. The lack of diverse mineralogy in the fragments SW3-[B] and SW3-[C] of 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 along with the relatively larger peak in the coma grain size distribution suggests the parent body of this comet may have formed in a region of the solar nebula with different environmental properties than the natal sites where comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) and 9P/Tempel 1 nuclei aggregated.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
