Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1775774 Icarus 2007 14 Pages PDF
Abstract
The results of the multiaperture photometry of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 1991 T2 in the pre-perihelion and P/deVico in the post-perihelion period with the narrowband CN, C2 and Blue Continuum (BC) IHW filters are presented. A Haser model of the molecular coma was used for the determination of the parent and daughter scale-lengths and production rates of the radicals. The comets showed some substantial differences between their parent scale-lengths. The CN parent scale-length (at 1.0 AU) was 16×103 km for Comet Shoemaker-Levy and 39×103 for P/deVico, the C2 parent scale-lengths were respectively 29×103 and 54×103 km. Such divergences could be interpreted in the frame of different scenarios of emission of cometary parents, either from a nucleus or from a volume source. The daughter scale-lengths for these comets were quite similar, namely: 306×103 and 318×103 km for CN and 69×103 and 66×103 km for C2. We determined the Afρ parameter for apertures of different radii. A Monte Carlo model of the dust coma was used to obtain the dust ejection velocity. It was of the order of 0.1 km s−1 for both comets. The power index of the distribution of the β-parameter of dust particles (ratio of light pressure to the solar gravitation) was of the order of 3 for C/Shoemaker-Levy and close to 2 for P/deVico. The dependence on heliocentric distance (rh) of the radical and dust production rates for P/deVico in the range of 0.7-1.0 AU was described by the power law function rh−α with a power index equal to: 5.55±0.14 for CN, 5.70±0.24 for C2 and 5.22±0.19 for dust. Relative abundances of the dynamically new Comet Shoemaker-Levy and short-period P/deVico were quite similar with an enhancement of C2 comparing with standard values taken from A'Hearn et al. (1995).
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Space and Planetary Science
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