Issue |
Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser.
Volume 120, Number 2, December I 1996
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 301 - 311 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/aas:1996294 | |
Published online | 15 December 1996 |
Dust colors, dust release rates, and dust-to-gas ratios in the comae of six comets
1
Department of Physics, State University of Londrina, Perobal, 86051 Londrina, PR, Brazil
2
Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, P. O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, TX 78228-0510, U.S.A. e-mail: Walter.huebner@hq.nasa.gov
3
On leave from Department of Astronomy, Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, University of São Paulo, Av. Miguel Stefano 4200, Agua Funda, São Paulo, Cep. 04301-904, Brazil
Send offprint request to: W.F. Huebner
Received:
9
February
1995
Accepted:
22
March
1996
In an attempt to find correlations between properties of comets,
we determine the dust colors, dust release rates, and
dust-to-gas mass ratios in the comae of Comets Bowell (1980 b =
1982 I), Bradfield (1979 l = 1979 X), Brorsen-Metcalf (1989 o =
1989 X), Giacobini-Zinner (1984 e = 1985 XIII), Levy (1990 c =
1990 XX), and Stephan-Oterma (1980 g = 1980 X) using a uniform
and systematic analysis of the continuum fluxes measured at
optical wavelengths. We assume that the continuum fluxes
observed in these comets are from light scattered by
micrometer-sized dust particles.
The color of the dust is blue, relative to the Sun, in Comets
Bradfield (1979 X) and Brorsen-Metcalf (1989 X); both comets
have a low dust-to-gas mass ratio (). Comets
Giacobini-Zinner (1985 XIII) and Stephan-Oterma (1980 X) have
an intermediate dust-to-gas mass ratio (
),
whereas Comets Levy (1990 XX) and Bowell (1982 I) have a high
dust-to-gas mass ratio (
). The continuum flux from
dust particles in comets with intermediate to high dust-to-gas
mass ratios is in general red, relative to the Sun. However,
the color changes to blue in these comets when the dust-to-gas
mass ratios are low relative to their peak values.
Key words: comets / Bowell (1982 I); Bradfield (1979 X); Brorsen-Metcalf (1989 X); Giacobini-Zinner (1985 XIII); Levy (1990 XX); Stephan-Oterma (1980 X)
© European Southern Observatory (ESO), 1996