Explanatory Supplement
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Comet Section Observing Guide
Comet Section Observing Guide 1 The British Astronomical Association Comet Section www.britastro.org/comet BAA Comet Section Observing Guide Front cover image: C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) by Geoffrey Johnstone on 1997 April 10. Back cover image: C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) by Lester Barnes on 2011 December 23. © The British Astronomical Association 2018 2018 December (rev 4) 2 CONTENTS 1 Foreword .................................................................................................................................. 6 2 An introduction to comets ......................................................................................................... 7 2.1 Anatomy and origins ............................................................................................................................ 7 2.2 Naming .............................................................................................................................................. 12 2.3 Comet orbits ...................................................................................................................................... 13 2.4 Orbit evolution .................................................................................................................................... 15 2.5 Magnitudes ........................................................................................................................................ 18 3 Basic visual observation ........................................................................................................ -
Comet Prospects for 2017
Comet Prospects for 2017 February could be a busy month with the possibility of three periodic comets visible in binoculars. Three comets in parabolic orbits may also become visible in binoculars. These predictions focus on comets that are likely to be within range of visual observers, though comets often do not behave as expected and can spring surprises. Members are encouraged to make visual magnitude estimates, particularly of periodic comets, as long term monitoring over many returns helps understand their evolution. Please submit your magnitude estimates in ICQ format. Guidance on visual observation and how to submit estimates is given in the BAA Observing Guide to Comets. Drawings are also useful, as the human eye can sometimes discern features that initially elude electronic devices. Theories on the structure of comets suggest that any comet could fragment at any time, so it is worth keeping an eye on some of the fainter comets, which are often ignored. They would make useful targets for those making electronic observations, especially those with time on instruments such as the Faulkes telescopes. Such observers are encouraged to report electronic visual equivalent magnitude estimates via COBS. When possible use a waveband approximating to Visual or V magnitudes. These estimates can be used to extend the visual light curves, and hence derive more accurate absolute magnitudes. Such observations of periodic comets are particularly valuable as observations over many returns allow investigation into the evolution of comets. In addition to the information in the BAA Handbook and on the Section web pages, ephemerides for the brighter observable comets are published in the Circulars, and ephemerides for new and currently observable comets are on the JPL, CBAT and Seiichi Yoshida's web pages. -
PROBING the DEAD COMETS THAT CAUSE OUR METEOR SHOWERS. P. Jenniskens, SETI Insti- Tute (515 N. Whisman Road, Mountain View, CA 94043; [email protected])
Spacecraft Reconnaissance of Asteroid and Comet Interiors (2006) 3036.pdf PROBING THE DEAD COMETS THAT CAUSE OUR METEOR SHOWERS. P. Jenniskens, SETI Insti- tute (515 N. Whisman Road, Mountain View, CA 94043; [email protected]). Introduction: In recent years, a number of mi- the lack of current activity of 2003 EH1, the nor planets have been identified that are the par- stream was probably formed in a fragmentation ent bodies of meteor showers on Earth. These event about 500 years ago. Chinese observers are extinct or mostly-dormant comets. They make noticed a comet in A.D. 1490/91 (C/1490 Y1) that interesting targets for spacecraft reconnaissance, could have marked the moment that the stream because they are impact hazards to our planet. was formed. These Near-Earth Objects have the low tensile In 2005, a small minor planet 2003 WY25 was strength of comets but, due to their low activity, discovered to move in the orbit of comet D/1819 they are safer to approach and study than volatile W1 (Blanpain). This formerly lost comet was only rich active Jupiter-family comets. More over, fly- seen in 1819. A meteor outburst was observed in by missions can be complimented by studies of 1956, the meteoroids of which were traced back elemental composition and morphology of the to a fragmentation event in or shortly before 1819 dust from meteor shower observations. [3]. It was subsequently found that 2003 WY25 Meteor shower parent bodies: The first object had been weakly active when it passed perihelion of this kind was identified by Fred Whipple in [4]. -
Finding Long Lost Lexellʼs Comet: the Fate of the First Discovered Near-Earth Object
The Astronomical Journal, 155:163 (13pp), 2018 April https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aab1f6 © 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Finding Long Lost Lexellʼs Comet: The Fate of the First Discovered Near-Earth Object Quan-Zhi Ye (叶泉志)1,2 , Paul A. Wiegert3,4 , and Man-To Hui (许文韬)5 1 Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA; [email protected] 2 Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA 3 Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada 4 Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B8, Canada 5 Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1567, USA Received 2017 December 14; revised 2018 February 16; accepted 2018 February 20; published 2018 March 22 Abstract Jupiter-family Comet D/1770 L1 (Lexell) was the first discovered Near-Earth Object (NEO) and passed the Earth on 1770 July 1 at a recorded distance of 0.015 au. The comet was subsequently lost due to unfavorable observing circumstances during its next apparition followed by a close encounter with Jupiter in 1779. Since then, the fate of D/Lexell has attracted interest from the scientific community, and now we revisit this long-standing question. We investigate the dynamical evolution of D/Lexell based on a set of orbits recalculated using the observations made by Charles Messier, the comet’s discoverer, and find that there is a 98% chance that D/Lexell remains in the solar system by the year of 2000. -
Perturbation of the Oort Cloud by Close Stellar Encounter with Gliese 710
Bachelor Thesis University of Groningen Kapteyn Astronomical Institute Perturbation of the Oort Cloud by Close Stellar Encounter with Gliese 710 August 5, 2019 Author: Rens Juris Tesink Supervisors: Kateryna Frantseva and Nickolas Oberg Abstract Context: Our Sun is thought to have an Oort cloud, a spherically symmetric shell of roughly 1011 comets orbiting with semi major axes between ∼ 5 × 103 AU and 1 × 105 AU. It is thought to be possible that other stars also possess comet clouds. Gliese 710 is a star expected to have a close encounter with the Sun in 1.35 Myrs. Aims: To simulate the comet clouds around the Sun and Gliese 710 and investigate the effect of the close encounter. Method: Two REBOUND N-body simulations were used with the help of Gaia DR2 data. Simulation 1 had a total integration time of 4 Myr, a time-step of 1 yr, and 10,000 comets in each comet cloud. And Simulation 2 had a total integration time of 80,000 yr, a time-step of 0.01 yr, and 100,000 comets in each comet cloud. Results: Simulation 2 revealed a 1.7% increase in the semi-major axis at time of closest approach and a population loss of 0.019% - 0.117% for the Oort cloud. There was no statistically significant net change of the inclination of the comets during this encounter and a 0.14% increase in the eccentricity at the time of closest approach. Contents 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Comets . .3 1.2 New comets and the Oort cloud . .5 1.3 Structure of the Oort cloud . -
Contents - J Through K
Workshop on Dust in Planetary Systems 2005 alpha_j-k.pdf Contents - J through K ROSINA'S First Measurements from Space and Anticipated Analyses at Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko A. Jäckel, K. Altwegg, P. Wurz, H. Balsiger, E. Arijs, J. J. Berthelier, S. Fuselier, F. Gliem, T. Gombosi, A. Korth, and H. Rème....................................................................................... 4045 Meteor Showers from Broken Comets P. Jenniskens.......................................................................................................................................... 4032 Hyperseed MAC: An Airborne and Ground-based Campaign to Monitor the Stardust Sample Return Capsule Reentry on 2006 January 15 P. Jenniskens, P. Wercinski, M. Wright, J. Olejniczak, G. Raiche, D. Kontinos, E. Schilling, G. Rossano, R. W. Russell, M. Taylor, H. Stenbaek-Nielsen, G. Mcharg, R. L. Spalding, K. Sandquist, J. Hatton, S. Abe, R. Rairden, D. O. ReVelle, P. Gural, D. Hladiuk, A. Hildebrand, and F. Rietmeijer................................................ 4030 Dust in Comets Observed at Submillimeter Wavelengths D. Jewitt, H. Matthews, and S. Andrews ................................................................................................ 4007 Organic Synthesis on Dust: Implications for Protostellar Systems N. M. Johnson and J. A. Nuth III............................................................................................................ 4062 Crystalline Silicate Formation and Comets N. M. Johnson and J. A. Nuth III........................................................................................................... -
The Orbit and Size-Frequency Distribution of Long Period Comets Observed by Pan-STARRS1
The Orbit and Size-Frequency Distribution of Long Period Comets Observed by Pan-STARRS1 Benjamin Boea, Robert Jedickea, Karen J. Meecha, Paul Wiegertb, Robert J. Weryka, K. C. Chambersa, L. Denneaua, N. Kaiserd, R.-P. Kudritzkia,c, E. A. Magniera, R. J. Wainscoata, C. Watersa aInstitute for Astronomy, University of Hawai`i, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA bThe University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada cMunich University Observatory, Munich, Germany dEcole´ Normale Sup´erieure, Paris, France. Abstract We introduce a new technique to estimate the comet nuclear size frequency distribution (SFD) that combines a cometary activity model with a survey simulation and apply it to 150 long period comets (LPC) detected by the Pan-STARRS1 near-Earth object survey. The debiased LPC size-frequency distribution is in agreement with previous estimates for large comets with nuclear diameter & 1 km but we measure a significant drop in the SFD slope for small objects with diameters < 1 km and approaching only 100 m diameter. Large objects have a slope αbig = 0:72 ± 0:09(stat:) ± 0:15(sys:) while small objects behave as αsmall = αHN 0:07 ± 0:03(stat:) ± 0:09(sys:) where the SFD is / 10 and HN represents the cometary nuclear absolute magnitude. The total number of LPCs that are > 1 km diameter and have perihelia q < 10 au is 0:46 ± 0:15 × 109 while there are only 2:4 ± 0:5(stat:) ± 2(sys:) × 109 objects with diameters > 100 m due to the shallow slope of the SFD for diameters < 1 km. We estimate that the total number of `potentially active' objects with diameters ≥ 1 km in the Oort cloud, objects that would be defined as LPCs if their perihelia evolved to < 10 au, is 12 (1:5±1)×10 with a combined mass of 1:3±0:9 M⊕. -
An Exocomet in the Fomalhaut System: Simulating Gas and Dust Emission in a Debris Disk
EPSC Abstracts Vol. 13, EPSC-DPS2019-1649-1, 2019 EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2019 c Author(s) 2019. CC Attribution 4.0 license. An exocomet in the Fomalhaut system: simulating gas and dust emission in a debris disk Maria Teresa Capria (1), Diego Turrini (1) and Edoardo Rognini (1) (1) INAF-IAPS, Rome, Italy (mariateresa.capria @inaf.it) Abstract by the sublimation of the ices and undergo the drag exerted by the escaping gas. The model is being used A thermophysical model is being used to simulate the to compute the amount of gas and dust released from behaviour of a cometary nucleus following an orbit the nucleus along an orbit, both in presence and in the Fomlhaut debris disc. We study the amount of absence of gas from the circumstellar disc. The CO gas and dust released during a typical orbit, and chosen orbit has the aphelion at 170 au and the compare them with the ALMA observations. We also perihelion at 140 au. We are willing to study the evaluate the survival of the body on a very long time amount of CO gas and dust released during a typical span. orbit, and compare these emissions with the ALMA observations. We are also willing to derive the total mass lost by the exocomet during an orbit and study 1. Introduction its long-time activity of the comet, in order to A number of debris disks around main sequence stars evaluate the survival of the body on a very long time have are now been identified [1], and in some of span. -
Obama Acts Alone on Climate
NEWS IN FOCUS SPENDING US ocean sciences SPACE Lost comet lander HEALTH Obama floats UNSUNG HEROES The snake panel calls for infrastructure poses science-mission precision-medicine milker and other behind- cuts p.538 dilemma p.536 programme p.540 the-scenes staff p.542 ANDREW BURTON/GETTY ANDREW BURTON/GETTY Regulations affecting coal-burning power plants are key to US President Barack Obama’s effort to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. POLICY Obama acts alone on climate With little hope of support from Congress, US president unilaterally pushes regulations and international agreements in pursuit of an environmental legacy. BY JEFF TOLLEFSON most give him credit for having done what powerful greenhouse gases that are often used he has in the face of Republican opposition. as refrigerants. The president has the author- he collapse of legislation to reduce “Obama has done an amazing amount on cli- ity to make international agreements and issue US greenhouse-gas emissions was mate in his six years, and it certainly looks like regulations independent of Congress, both one of the most significant failures of he is trying to make this a legacy issue,” says houses of which came under Republican control TPresident Barack Obama’s first term in office. Kevin Kennedy, director of the US Climate with November’s elections. Halfway through his second, in the face of an Initiative at the World Resources Institute, a The long-term success of these efforts will entrenched Republican majority on Capitol non-governmental environmental-research depend on court rulings and the actions of Hill, Obama is now trying to build an environ organization in Washington DC. -