THREE EVENTS OF OUTBURST OF COMET HALE-BOPP

The results of photographic observations of Comet Hale-Bopp made at Qingdao Station of Purple Mountain Observatory during the period from September to November of 1996 are given. It is shown that three events of outburst occurred on Sept. 24, Oct. 26 and Nov. 13, and a large jet appeared in the plate of Sept.23,1996.     

青岛观象台海尔—波普慧星观测

中国科学院紫金山天文台青岛观象台从1996年4月开始到1995年5月1日结束,在138个观测夜,共拍摄Hale-Bopp彗星底片508张。发现:Hale-Bopp彗星在1996年9月24日的一次爆发,1996年10月26日,11月13日的两次可能爆发。在1996年9月23日的底片上,Hale-Bopp呈现巨大的喷流。在1997年2月8日至5月1日期间,Hale-Bopp彗星彗头内存在大量壳层结构。     

Brightness profiles of C3 and NH3 in the atmosphere of P/Brorsen-Metcalf

Spectroscopic observations of Comet P/Brorsen-Metcalf were made on August 9–13, 1989. Spatial profiles extracted from long-slit spectra were analyzed to determine the lifetimes of C₃ and NH₂ radicals and their parents, as well as the tailward acceleration of these radicals. In our investigations we used a Monte Carlo model. The average lifetime for C₃ has been found to be 6.3 × 10⁴ s and that for the parent of C₃ to 6 × 10³ s. The spatial profiles of C₃ were almost symmetric and we need only 0.1 cm s⁻² as the tailward acceleration. According to our simulations, C₃H₄ (allene) can be considered as the parent for C₃. We obtained the average value 7.6 × 10⁴ s for the lifetime of NH₂ and 1.1 × 10⁴ s for the lifetime of the NH₂ parent. The tailward acceleration of NH₂ was not more than 0.1 cm s⁻². This result does not exceed the latest theoretical calculations of NH₂ and NH₃ lifetimes by a factor of 1.4. So, NH₃ may be considered as a parent for NH₂ in the atmosphere of P/Brorsen-Metcalf.     

Pre-Impact Mid-IR and Optical Observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1

Comet 9P/Tempel 1, the target of the Deep Impact mission, has been intensively observed for a long time period before the encounter. Pre-impact ground based monitoring of the comet was an important prerequisite for the success of the first space experiment in which a comet is treated by an artificial impact. It provided the background data needed to disentangle the features caused by the impact from variations caused by the natural activity of the comet. In this paper we present results from the ESO-monitoring of the comet, conducted in the thermal infrared and optical spectral ranges during several months before the Deep Impact encounter with the comet.     

Hubble Space Telescope observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 during the Deep Impact encounter

We report on the Hubble Space Telescope program to observe periodic Comet 9P/Tempel 1 in conjunction with NASA's Deep Impact Mission. Our objectives were to study the generation and evolution of the coma resulting from the impact and to obtain wide-band images of the visual outburst generated by the impact. Two observing campaigns utilizing a total of 17 HST orbits were carried out: the first occurred on 2005 June 13-14 and fortuitously recorded the appearance of a new, short-lived fan in the sunward direction on June 14. The principal campaign began two days before impact and was followed by contiguous orbits through impact plus several hours and then snapshots one, seven, and twelve days later. All of the observations were made using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). For imaging, the ACS High Resolution Channel (HRC) provides a spatial resolution of 36 km (16 km pixel⁻¹) at the comet at the time of impact. Baseline images of the comet, made prior to impact, photometrically resolved the comet's nucleus. The derived diameter, 6.1 km, is in excellent agreement with the 6.0±0.2 km diameter derived from the spacecraft imagers. Following the impact, the HRC images illustrate the temporal and spatial evolution of the ejecta cloud and allow for a determination of its expansion velocity distribution. One day after impact the ejecta cloud had passed out of the field-of-view of the HRC.     

Observations of Rotating Jets of Carbon Monoxide in Comet Hale–Bopp with the Iram Interferometer

CO was observed on March 11, 1997 in comet Hale–Bopp with theIRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer. The maps show evidence for asymmetrical patterns, due to the Existence of CO jets. Analysis of the spectra and their velocity shifts shows that there is a spiral CO jet rotating in a plane almost perpendicular to the sky plane.This is the first time that rotating jets are observed for parent molecules.We have developed a 3-D model simulating rotating spiral jets of CO gas.We present here the comparison between the observations and our model.     

Spectra of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) Obtained with 6-M BTA Reflector at Mount Pastukhov

Between July 1996 and April 1997, 92 spectra of comet Hale-Bopp were obtained with the 6-meter BTA telescope of the SAO of the RAS at Mount Pastukhov. The spectra are two-dimensional, which allows one to determine the energy distribution for each emission along the slit and the energy distribution in wavelength for each individual position in the slit. From the 92 two-dimensional spectra covering the inner coma, detailed spectral maps of the total near-nuclear region of the comet are available for July 10, 11 and 12, 1996 and April 15, 1997. We propose an hypothesis about an unknown cometary species near λ = 620 nm in the spectrum obtained July 10, 1996. We also find an effect which may be caused by fluorescence of cometary dust. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Orbit of periodic comet 153P/Ikeya–Zhang

The orbit of Comet C/2002C1 (Ikeya–Zhang) has a similarity to that of Comet C/1661C1 (Hevelius), and the numerical integration of the motion of C/2002C1 backward shows a possible linkage of those two comets. Thus, 153P/Ikeya–Zhang was designated a periodic comet. Historical records of comets in 877 and 1273 are also identified with Comet 153P/Ikeya–Zhang. The integrated orbital elements during 77 and 2362, and historical records of the comet are also presented and discussed.     

The Experiments Onboard the ROSETTA Lander

As a part of ESA's cornerstone mission ``ROSETTA' to comet 46P/Wirtanen a 100 kgLander will bring a scientific payload of almost 27 kg to the surface of the nucleus.After a first scientific sequence it will operate for a considerable fraction of thecometary orbit around the sun (between 3 AU and 2 AU). Ten experiments with a number of sub-experiments are foreseen; this paper presents the current status of the Lander development and reviews the scientific capabilities of each of the experiments at a time when the Flight Model (FM) of the Lander is already delivered.     

The rotational structure of the B-X system of sulfur dimers in the spectra of Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2)

We have constructed line-by-line fluorescence models for the ro-vibrational bands of the B-X system of sulfur dimers (S₂). For the first time the detailed rotational lines of the bands are clearly resolved in the high-resolution echelle spectra of Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2), which were obtained at the Kitt Peak 4-m telescope on 26.4 March 1996 (UT). In order to construct satisfactory band models of the B-X system, we first compared the models to laboratory spectra available in literature, and then compared the models including Swings effects to the high-resolution spectra of Hyakutake. From the model fits, we derived a rotational temperature of 70±10 K, which should represent a temperature of a coma region close to the nucleus, where most of the S₂ emissions originate. We present previously proposed scenarios for the origin of S₂ in cometary comae, and compare them with our spectral analysis.