Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10701760 | Icarus | 2012 | 5 Pages |
Abstract
We observed Comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd) on UT 2011 September 8th and 9th at a large heliocentric distance of 2.1 AU upon its entry to the inner Solar System. The observations were performed using high-resolution infrared spectrometers (NIRSPEC at Keck II and CSHELL at IRTF), allowing us to obtain strong detections of H2O, CO, CH4 and HCN and sensitive upper-limits for C2H6, C2H2, NH3 and HC3N. We oriented the slit at 45° from the projected Sun-comet vector and obtained spatial profiles of H2O, CH4, and HCN that revealed notable differences among these species. In particular, we observed a strong excess of water in the projected sunward direction, probably due to a solar-activated jet releasing water-rich icy grains.
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Authors
G.L. Villanueva, M.J. Mumma, M.A. DiSanti, B.P. Bonev, L. Paganini, G.A. Blake,