THE NEOWISE-DISCOVERED COMET POPULATION AND THE CO + CO{sub 2} PRODUCTION RATES

Journal Article · Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/85· OSTI ID:22521870

Bauer, James M.; Stevenson, Rachel; Kramer, Emily; Mainzer, A. K.; Masiero, Joseph R.; Weissman, Paul R.; Nugent, Carrie R.; Sonnett, Sarah ^[1]; Grav, Tommy ^[2]; Fernández, Yan R. ^[3]; Cutri, Roc M.; Dailey, John W.; Masci, Frank J.; Blair, Nathan; Lucas, Andrew ^[4]; Meech, Karen J. ^[5]; Walker, Russel ^[6]; Lisse, C. M. ^[7]; McMillan, Robert S. ^[8]

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1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 183-401, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
2. Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395 (United States)
3. Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., P.S. Building, Orlando, FL 32816-2385 (United States)
4. Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
5. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Dr., Manoa, HI 96822 (United States)
6. Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy, 200 Eighth Street, Marina, CA 93933 (United States)
7. Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road Laurel, MD 20723-6099 (United States)
8. Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1629 East University Blvd., Kuiper Space Science Bldg. 92, Tucson, AZ 85721-0092 (United States)

The 163 comets observed during the WISE/NEOWISE prime mission represent the largest infrared survey to date of comets, providing constraints on dust, nucleus size, and CO + CO{sub 2} production. We present detailed analyses of the WISE/NEOWISE comet discoveries, and discuss observations of the active comets showing 4.6 μm band excess. We find a possible relation between dust and CO + CO{sub 2} production, as well as possible differences in the sizes of long and short period comet nuclei.

• OSTI ID: 22521870
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 814, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON MONOXIDE
COMETS
COSMIC DUST
INFRARED SPECTRA
INFRARED SURVEYS
LIMITING VALUES