Related papers: Continuous Fragmentation of Comet 157P/Tritton
A quantitative understanding of cometary outbursts requires robust constraints on the size distribution of ejected particles, which governs outburst dynamics and underpins estimates of released gas and dust. In the absence of direct…
In this paper, we present a unique data set of more than one year's worth of regular observations of comet C/2013 A1(Siding Spring) with TRAPPIST in Chile, along with low-resolution spectra obtained with the ESO/VLT FORS 2 instrument. The…
Rigorous statistical numerical analysis of the response of a nonspherical dust particle ensemble composed of aggregates of astronomical silicate is presented. It is found that the rotational disruption mechanism is not only likely to occur…
We present an analysis of the photometric and spectroscopic observations of the split comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS). Observations were carried out on the 14th and 16th of April 2020 when the heliocentric distances of the comet were 1.212 and…
Time variations in velocities and relative amount of observed particles (mainly icy particles with diameter d<3 {\mu}m) ejected from Comet 9P/Tempel 1 are studied based on analysis of the images made by Deep Impact (DI) cameras during the…
Motion of many comets is affected by non-gravitational forces caused by outgassing from their surfaces. Outgassing also produces reactive torques resulting in cometary spin evolution. We propose that the two processes are correlated and…
We present a study of C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) using Sloan $gri$ observations from mid-January to early April 2020. During this timespan, the comet brightened with a growth in the effective cross-section of $\left(2.0 \pm 0.1 \right) \times…
On 3 July 2016, several instruments on board ESA's Rosetta spacecraft detected signs of an outburst event on comet 67P, at a heliocentric distance of 3.32 AU from the sun, outbound from perihelion. We here report on the inferred properties…
During its most recent return, comet 12P/Pons-Brooks experienced 14 well-documented outbursts, observed between June 13, 2023, and April 2024, at heliocentric distances ranging from $4.26\,$au to $0.85\,$au. After perihelion, two additional…
Jupiter co-orbital comets have orbits that are not long-term stable. They may experience flybys with Jupiter close enough to trigger tidal disruptions like the one suffered by comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Our aim was to study the activity and…
We could accurately predict the shadow path and successfully observe an occultation of a bright star by Chiron on 2022 December 15. The Kottamia Astronomical Observatory in Egypt did not detect the occultation by the solid body, but we…
We report on initial results from 20 days' worth of TESS spacecraft observations of comet 46P/Wirtanen. The long-duration, high-cadence measurements show a 2018 September 26 outburst that exhibited a two-phase, 0.5 mag brightening profile,…
Hubble Space Telescope observations of main-belt comet P/2013 P5 reveal an extraordinary system of six dust tails that distinguish this object from any other. Observations two weeks apart show dramatic morphological change in the tails…
Comet 12P/Pons-Brook exhibited multiple large and minor outbursts in 2023 on its way to its 2024 perihelion, as it has done during its previous apparitions. We obtained long-slit optical spectra of the comet in 2023 August and 2023 November…
Background: Neutron stars are astronomical systems with nucleons submitted to extreme conditions. Due to the long range coulomb repulsion between protons, the system has structural inhomogeneities. These structural inhomogeneities arise…
We present an analysis of new and published data on P/2013 R3, the first asteroid detected while disintegrating. Thirteen discrete components are measured in the interval between UT 2013 October 01 and 2014 February 13. We determine a mean,…
Previously proposed mechanisms have difficulty explaining the disruption of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) as it approached the Sun. We describe a novel cometary disruption mechanism whereby comet nuclei fragment and disperse through dynamic…
We observed 34 comets using the 24 micron camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope. Each image contains the nucleus and covers at least 10^6 km of each comet's orbit. Debris trails due to mm-sized or larger particles were found along the…
We report the detection of several emission bands in the CO Fourth Positive Group from comet 103P/Hartley during ultraviolet spectroscopic observations from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on 2010 November 4 near the time of closest…
Comets display with decreasing solar distance an increased emission of gas and dust particles, leading to the formation of the coma and tail. Spacecraft missions provide insight in the temporal and spatial variations of the dust and gas…