Abstract Details

Name: ARAVIND K
Affiliation: Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad
Conference ID: ASI2020_328
Title : CONTRASTING BEHAVIOUR OF TWO JUPITER FAMILY COMETS
Authors and Co-Authors : Aravind.K, Kumar Venkataramani, Shashikiran Ganesh
Abstract Type : Oral
Abstract Category : Sun and the Solar System
Abstract : Comets contain pristine materials from the early protosolar nebula. One of the key motivations to carry out research and study different comets and their characteristics is that they can advance our understanding of the solar system and its evolution from the protosolar nebula. Observing and analysing the evolution of these molecular outflows can give vital clues on the evolution of the conditions that prevailed in the early solar system. Low resolution spectroscopy can be used to study the molecular emission bands over a range of wavelength. Jupiter family comets are those comets with orbital period less than 20 years, whose current orbits are primarily determined by the gravitational influence of Jupiter. Most of these comets are faint due to rapid depletion of volatiles through multiple journey to the inner Solar System. Two such Jupiter family comets, 46P/Wirtanen and 123P/West-Hartley, were observed with the help of optical low resolution spectrograph (LISA) using the 1.2 m telescope at Mt. Abu. Observation of 46P/Wirtanen also covered its closest approach to Earth which was the closest among all observed comet within last 70 years and 123P/West-Hartley was observed soon after its perihelion passage. This contribution will discuss the scientific findings regarding these two comets which have extremely different coma composition and emission behaviour.