Related papers: Comet 66P/du Toit: not a near Earth main belt come…
Photometric and spectroscopic observations of five nearly parabolic comets with eccentricity larger than 0.99 at heliocentric distances greater than 4 AU were performed. No molecular emission was observed for any studied comet and the…
We present initial observations of the newly-discovered active asteroid 313P/Gibbs (formerly P/2014 S4), taken to characterize its nucleus and comet-like activity. The central object has a radius $\sim$0.5 km (geometric albedo 0.05…
Splitting of the nuclei of comets into multiple components has been frequently observed but, to date, no main-belt asteroid has been observed to break-up. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, we find that main-belt asteroid P/2013 R3 consists…
We report on magnetic field measurements made in the innermost coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in its low activity state. Quasi-coherent, large-amplitude ($\delta B/B \sim 1$), compressional magnetic field oscillations at $\sim$ 40 mHz…
Thanks to the Rosetta mission, our understanding of comets has greatly improved. A very good opportunity to apply this knowledge appeared in early 2017 with the appearance of the Jupiter family comet 41P/TGK. We performed an observational…
We observed Comet C/Siding Spring using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during its close approach to Mars. The high spatial resolution images obtained through the F689M, F775W, and F845M filters reveal the characteristics of the dust coma.…
Conventional narrowband photoelectric photometry of Comet Hale-Bopp (1995 O1) was obtained on 99 nights from mid-1995 to early-2000, yielding gas and dust production rates over an unprecedented range of time and distance. The appearance of…
We analyzed 2 ultra-carbonaceous interplanetary dust particles and 2 cometary Wild 2 particles with infrared spectroscopy. We characterized the carrier of the 3.4 micron band in these samples and compared its profile and the CH2/CH3 ratios…
Main Belt comets represent a recently discovered class of objects. They are quite intriguing because, while having a Tisserand invariant value higher than 3, are showing cometary activity. We study the activity of the Main Belt comets…
We present observations and an interpretative model of the dust environment of Main-Belt Comet P/2010 F5 (Gibbs). The narrow dust trails observed can be interpreted unequivocally as an impulsive event that took place around 2011 July 1st…
We report spectra from 3000-5900 A for comet 96P/Machholz, obtained on 2007 Apr 27 UT with the 3-m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory. The spectra are extremely carbon poor, and show a prominent NH_2 series, but no CN emission. NH, NH_2,…
We present a study of the current state of knowledge concerning spacecraft operations and potential hazards while operating near a comet nucleus. Starting from simple calculations comparing the cometary coma environment to benign conditions…
Images and low-resolution spectra of the near-Earth Jupiter family comet (JFC) 249P/LINEAR in the visible range obtained with the instrument OSIRIS in the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias on January 3, 4, 6 and February 6, 2016 are presented,…
During its two years mission around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, ESA's Rosetta spacecraft had the unique opportunity to follow closely a comet in the most active part of its orbit. Many studies have presented the typical features…
Most comets are volatile-rich bodies that have recently entered the inner solar system following long-term storage in the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud reservoirs. These reservoirs feed several distinct, short-lived "small body"…
The dust emission from active asteroids is likely driven by collisions, fast rotation, sublimation of embedded ice, and combinations of these. Characterising these processes leads to a better understanding of their respective influence on…
We carried out photometric and spectroscopic observations of comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 at the 6-m BTA telescope (SAO RAS, Russia) and the 1.6-m telescope of the National Laboratory for Astro-physics (LNA, Brazil) on February 20,…
It has been suggested that the comet-like activity of Main Belt Comets is due to the sublimation of sub-surface water-ice that is exposed when these objects are impacted by meter-sized bodies. We recently examined this scenario and showed…
Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak (41P), a Jupiter family comet with three discoveries over about 100 years, is in a short-periodic orbit around the Sun with the perihelion close to the Earth distance. The 2017 apparition of 41P offered a…
Images of the nucleus and the coma (gas and dust) of comet 67P/Churyumov- Gerasimenko have been acquired by the OSIRIS (Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System) cameras since March 2014 using both the Wide Angle Camera…