Abstract An ultraviolet sounding rocket telescope/spectrograph experiment observed Comet Halley on 26 February 1986, 17 days after perihelion. From the long-slit spectra, the production rates of O, C, and CO are calculated. The derived water production rate is a lower limit of 5.0 × 1029 s −1 and the volume mixing ratio of CO to H2O is 21%. The predicted brightness distribution from a radial outflow model with H2O and CO as parent molecules are in accordance with the measured spatial profiles of OI and CO emissions. The ratio of the production rates of CO to C is 2.7 which is consistent with the carbon source being the photodissociation of CO. However, the radial outflow model which best fits the CO data predicts significantly weaker CI emissions than was observed. A better fit to the carbon data is found when an inner coma source of C at a rate of 3% of the water production rate is included in the model.


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    Title :

    Rocket observation of the ultraviolet spectrum of comet Halley


    Contributors:
    Woods, T.N. (author) / Feldman, P.D. (author) / Dymond, K.F. (author) / Sahnow, D.J. (author)

    Published in:

    Advances in Space Research ; 5 , 12 ; 289-292


    Publication date :

    1985-01-01


    Size :

    4 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    Rocket observation of the ultraviolet spectrum of Comet Halley

    Woods, T. N. / Feldman, P. D. / Dymond, K. F. et al. | NTRS | 1985


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