Dynamics of the CO+ coma of comet 29P/Schwasmann–Wachmann 1
Authors:
O. Ivanova
Image & caption:
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Image caption::
Isolated CO+ (a, c, e, and g) and dust (b, d, f, and h) coma of 29P, obtained in 2007, 2008, and 2009, respectively. Both images are scaled in erg cm^−2 s^−1 Å^−1. The white contour line correspond to a column density at a cometocentric distance near 20 000 km. The direction to sunward (⊙), North (N), East (E), and cometary motions (V) are given.
Description:
Comet-centaur 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1 was observed in CO+ emission and continuum during 2007–2009 using the 6-m telescope SAO RAS. The distributions of dust and CO+ ions in the coma are not similar and vary depending on the level of comet activity. CO+ ions are more concentrated towards the nucleus than the dust continuum. The column density of the CO+ was derived and the production rate of CO+ was estimated. We showed that impact ionization by solar wind particles is the main ionization mechanism at large heliocentric distances (more 5 au).
Reference:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2019, 486, 4, 5614-5620.
SK
SAS
