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Spatial structure in the color of the dust coma of comet P/Halley

1989; Elsevier BV; Volume: 79; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0019-1035(89)90113-9

1090-2643

S. Hoban, Michael F. A’Hearn, P. V. Birch, R. Martin,

Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies

Narrowband CCD images of Comet P/Halley (1982i) from 1986 March 1 and 6 in two optical continuum filters have been combined into two-dimensional color maps of the dust coma out to approximately 1.56 × 105 km from the optocenter. We find significant spatial variations in the color of the dust. The envelope of intermediate-mass particles, which is formed around the nucleus as a result of solar radiation pressure, is redder than the remainder of the dust coma. We also find that a strong jet, which is present in the March 1 data, is redder than the dust envelope and the rest of the dust coma. In this paper, we model the wavelength dependence of the color of the dust using Mie theory and incorporate the in situ measurements of the various spacecraft experiments into our interpretation of the color mapsof the dust coma of Comet Halley.