1. Molecular composition of comet 46P/Wirtanen from millimetre-wave spectroscopy
- Author
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N. Dello Russo, J. Crovisier, P. Colom, Dominique Bockelée-Morvan, Boncho P. Bonev, R. Moreno, Nathan Roth, Martin A. Cordiner, Nicolas Biver, Dariusz C. Lis, Jérémie Boissier, Stefanie N. Milam, Ronald J. Vervack, Michael A. DiSanti, Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA (UMR_8109)), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Paris (UP), Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Interactions Hôtes-Pathogènes-Environnements (IHPE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD), Instituto Alexander Von Humboldt, Bogota, Colombia, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Catholic University of America, Universities Space Research Association (USRA), American University Washington D.C. (AU), Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD] (APL), and GSFC Planetary Systems Laboratory
- Subjects
Formamide ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Mean kinetic temperature ,radio lines: planetary systems ,Comet ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Astrophysics ,01 natural sciences ,Radio telescope ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,0103 physical sciences ,Molecule ,Spectroscopy ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Millimetre wave ,Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) ,Physics ,comets: general ,submillimeter: planetary systems ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,chemistry ,13. Climate action ,Space and Planetary Science ,comets: individual: 46P/Wirtanen ,[PHYS.ASTR]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph] ,Ethylene glycol ,Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics - Abstract
We present the results of a molecular survey of comet 46P/Wirtanen undertaken with the IRAM 30-m and NOEMA radio telescopes in December 2018. Observations at IRAM 30-m during the 12-18 Dec. period comprise a 2 mm spectral survey covering 25 GHz and a 1 mm survey covering 62 GHz. The gas outflow velocity and kinetic temperature have been accurately constrained by the observations. We derive abundances of 11 molecules, some being identified remotely for the first time in a Jupiter-family comet, including complex organic molecules such as formamide, ethylene glycol, acetaldehyde, or ethanol. Sensitive upper limits on the abundances of 24 other molecules are obtained. The comet is found to be relatively rich in methanol (3.4 percent relative to water), but relatively depleted in CO, CS, HNC, HNCO, and HCOOH., Comment: 35 pages, 16 figures, to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Published
- 2021
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