Optical low-dispersion spectroscopic observations of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 at Koyama Astronomical Observatory during the EPOXI flyby

Abstract

We performed low-dispersion spectroscopic observations of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 in optical wavelengths using the LOSA/F2 mounted on the 1.3m-Araki telescope at Koyama Astronomical Observatory on UT 2010 November 4 during the close approach of the Deep Impact spacecraft to the nucleus of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 in the EPOXI mission flyby. Our observations have revealed the chemistry of the coma at optical wavelengths; including CN, C3, C2 and NH2 along with H2O from [OI] emission at 6300Å. Resultant mixing ratios of these radicals put the comet into the normal group in chemical composition. The mixing ratios with respect to H2O obtained in our observations are basically consistent with the previous optical spectro-photometric observations of Comet 103P/Hartley 2 in 1991 by A’Hearn et al. (A’Hearn, M.F., Millis, R.L., Schleicher, D.G., Osip, D.J., Birch, P.V. [1995]. Icarus 118, 223–270), the optical spectroscopic observations in 1998 by Fink (Fink, U. [2009]. Icarus 201, 311–334) and also consistent with the observations on UT 2010 October 27 and 29 by Lara et al. (Lara, L.M., Lin, Z.-Y., Meech, K. [2011]. Astron. Astrophys. 532, A87) (but only for the ratio relative to CN).