Halley-type Comets Research Articles

In situ plasma and neutral gas observation time windows during a comet flyby: Application to the Comet Interceptor mission

A comet flyby, like the one planned for ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission, places stringent requirements on spacecraft resources. To plan the time line of in situ plasma and neutral gas observations during the flyby, the size of the comet magnetosphere and neutral coma must be estimated well. For given solar irradiance and solar wind conditions, comet composition, and neutral gas expansion speed, the size of gas coma and magnetosphere during the flyby can be estimated from the gas production rate and the flyby geometry. Combined with flyby velocity, the time spent in these regions can be inferred and a data acquisition plan can be elaborated for each instrument, compatible with the limited data storage capacity. The sizes of magnetosphere and gas coma are found from a statistical analysis based on the probability distributions of gas production rate, flyby velocity, and solar wind conditions. The size of the magnetosphere as measured by bow shock standoff distance is 105–106km near 1au in the unlikely case of a Halley-type target comet, down to a nonexistent bow shock for targets with low activity. This translates into durations up to 103–104 seconds. These estimates can be narrowed down when a target is identified far from the Sun, and even more so as its activity can be predicted more reliably closer to the Sun. Plasma and neutral gas instruments on the Comet Interceptor main spacecraft can monitor the entire flyby by using an adaptive data acquisition strategy in the context of a record-and-playback scenario. For probes released from the main spacecraft, the inter-satellite communication link limits the data return. For a slow flyby of an active comet, the probes may not yet be released during the inbound bow shock crossing.

CO and CO2 Productions Rates of Comets Observed by NEOWISE within Year 1 of the Reactivated Mission

We report on the observed fluxes of the comets detected by NEOWISE during the first year of operations after the spacecraft’s reactivation. The sample included 57 comets. Of the comets detected, 30 were short-period comets (27 Jupiter-family comets, 1 Centaur, 2 Halley-type comets), and 27 were long-period comets. From the measured fluxes in the two NEOWISE bands, proxies for the gas production and coma dust are derived. We find a relationship between heliocentric distance, perihelion distance, and the gas-to-dust proxy fractions.

A Modeling Study of the Seasonal, Latitudinal, and Temporal Distribution of the Meteoroid Mass Input at Mars: Constraining the Deposition of Meteoric Ablated Metals in the Upper Atmosphere

This study provides a comprehensive description of the deposition of meteor-ablated metals in the upper atmosphere of Mars, accounting for the temporal, vertical, latitudinal, and seasonal distribution. For this purpose, the Leeds Chemical Ablation Model is combined with a meteoroid input function to characterize the size and velocity distributions of three distinctive meteoroid populations around Mars—the Jupiter-family comets (JFCs), main-belt asteroids, and Halley-type comets (HTCs). These modeling results show a significant midnight-to-noon enhancement of the total mass influx because of the orbital dynamics of Mars, with meteoroid impacts preferentially distributed around the equator for particles with diameters below 2000 μm. The maximum total mass input occurs between the northern winter and the first crossing of the ecliptic plane with 2.30 tons sol−1, with the JFCs being the main contributor to the overall influx with up to 56% around Mars’ equator. Similarly, total ablated atoms mainly arise from the HTCs with a maximum injection rate of 0.71 tons sol−1 spanning from perihelion to the northern winter. In contrast, the minimum mass and ablated inputs occur between the maximum vertical distance above the ecliptic plane and aphelion with 1.50 and 0.42 tons sol−1, respectively. Meteoric ablation occurs approximately in the range altitude between 100 and 60 km with a strong midnight-to-noon enhancement at equatorial latitudes. The eccentricity and the inclination of Mars’ orbit produces a significant shift of the ablation peak altitude at high latitudes as Mars moves toward, or away, from the northern/southern solstices.

Recovery of Returning Halley-type Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks with the Lowell Discovery Telescope

Abstract We report the recovery of returning Halley-type comet 12P/Pons-Brooks using the 4.3 m Lowell Discovery Telescope, at a heliocentric distance of 11.89 au. Comparative analysis with a dust model suggests that the comet may have been active since ∼30 au from the Sun. We derive a nuclear radius of 17 ± 6 km from the nucleus photometry, though this number is likely an overestimate due to the contamination from dust and gas. Continuing monitoring is encouraged in anticipation of the comet’s forthcoming perihelion in 2024 April.

No evidence for interstellar planetesimals trapped in the Solar system

ABSTRACT In two recent papers published in MNRAS, Namouni and Morais claimed evidence for the interstellar origin of some small Solar system bodies, including: (i) objects in retrograde co-orbital motion with the giant planets and (ii) the highly inclined Centaurs. Here, we discuss the flaws of those papers that invalidate the authors’ conclusions. Numerical simulations backwards in time are not representative of the past evolution of real bodies. Instead, these simulations are only useful as a means to quantify the short dynamical lifetime of the considered bodies and the fast decay of their population. In light of this fast decay, if the observed bodies were the survivors of populations of objects captured from interstellar space in the early Solar system, these populations should have been implausibly large (e.g. about 10 times the current main asteroid belt population for the retrograde co-orbital of Jupiter). More likely, the observed objects are just transient members of a population that is maintained in quasi-steady state by a continuous flux of objects from some parent reservoir in the distant Solar system. We identify in the Halley-type comets and the Oort cloud the most likely sources of retrograde co-orbitals and highly inclined Centaurs.

2019 outburst of 15-Bootids (IAU#923, FBO) and search strategy to find the potentially hazardous comet

The CAMS BeNeLux and UAE Astronomical Camera Network meteor shower surveys detected a FWHM ​= ​1.8-h wide outburst of 15-Bootids on April 21/22, 2019. Both networks had clear skies throughout the night, but only between 21h28m and 00h13m UTC were meteors from this shower detected. The measured orbit is that of a Halley-type or Long-Period comet. If the shower is an encounter with the 1-revolution dust trail of a Long-Period comet, then that parent comet is a potential impact hazard. The long duration of the outburst suggests comparatively high ejection speeds from, presumably, a large nucleus. The orbit offers guidance for early comet recovery and a search strategy is described. The orbital elements resemble those of bright comet C/539 W1, which may be the parent comet.

Micrometeoroid Events in LISA Pathfinder

Abstract The zodiacal dust complex, a population of dust and small particles that pervades the solar system, provides important insight into the formation and dynamics of planets, comets, asteroids, and other bodies. We present a new set of data obtained from direct measurements of momentum transfer to a spacecraft from individual particle impacts. This technique is made possible by the extreme precision of the instruments flown on the LISA Pathfinder spacecraft, a technology demonstrator for a future space-based gravitational wave observatory. Pathfinder employed a technique known as drag-free control that achieved rejection of external disturbances, including particle impacts, using a micropropulsion system. Using a simple model of the impacts and knowledge of the control system, we show that it is possible to detect impacts and measure properties such as the transferred momentum, direction of travel, and location of impact on the spacecraft. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic search for impacts during 4348 hr of Pathfinder data. We report a total of 54 candidates with transferred momenta ranging from 0.2 to 230 μNs. We furthermore make a comparison of these candidates with models of micrometeoroid populations in the inner solar system, including those resulting from Jupiter-family comets (JFCs), Oort Cloud comets, Halley-type comets, and asteroids. We find that our measured population is consistent with a population dominated by JFCs, with some evidence for a smaller contribution from Halley-type comets, in agreement with consensus models of the zodiacal dust complex in the momentum range sampled by LISA Pathfinder.

Cosmic dust fluxes in the atmospheres of Earth, Mars, and Venus

The ablation of cosmic dust injects a range of metals into planetary upper atmospheres. In addition, dust particles which survive atmospheric entry can be an important source of organic material at a planetary surface. In this study the contribution of metals and organics from three cosmic dust sources – Jupiter-Family comets (JFCs), the Asteroid belt (AST), and Halley-Type comets (HTCs) – to the atmospheres of Earth, Mars and Venus is estimated by combining a Chemical Ablation Model (CABMOD) with a Zodiacal Cloud Model (ZoDy). ZoDy provides the mass, velocity, and radiant distributions for JFC, AST, and HTC particles. JFCs are shown to be the main mass contributor in all three atmospheres (68% for Venus, 70% Earth, and 52% for Mars), providing a total input mass for Venus, Earth and Mars of 31 ± 18 t d−1, 28 ± 16 t d−1 and 2 ± 1 t d−1, respectively. The mass contribution of AST particles increases with heliocentric distance (6% for Venus, 9% for Earth, and 14% for Mars). A novel multiphase treatment in CABMOD, tested experimentally in a Meteoric Ablation Simulator, is implemented to quantify atmospheric ablation from both the silicate melt and Fe-Ni metal domains. The ratio of Fe:Ni ablation fluxes at Earth, Mars and Venus are predicted to be close to their CI chondritic ratio of 18, in agreement with mass spectrometric measurements of Fe+:Ni+ = 20−8+13 in the terrestrial ionosphere. In contrast, lidar measurements of the neutral atoms at Earth indicate Fe:Ni = 38 ± 11, and observations by the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer on the MAVEN spacecraft at Mars indicate Fe+:Ni+ = 43−10+13. Given the slower average entry velocity of cosmic dust particles at Mars, the accretion rate of unmelted particles in Mars represents 60% of the total input mass, of which a significant fraction of the total unmelted mass (22%) does not reach an organic pyrolysis temperature (~900 K), leading to a flux of intact carbon of 14 kg d−1. This is significantly smaller than previous estimates.

IMEM2: a meteoroid environment model for the inner solar system

Context.The interplanetary dust complex is currently understood to be largely the result of dust production from Jupiter-family comets, with contributions also from longer-period comets (Halley- and Oort-type) and collisionally produced asteroidal dust.Aims.Here we develop a dynamical model of the interplanetary dust cloud from these source populations in order to develop a risk and hazard assessment tool for interplanetary meteoroids in the inner solar system.Methods.The long-duration (1 Myr) integrations of dust grains from Jupiter-family and Halley-type comets and main belt asteroids were used to generate simulated distributions that were compared to COBE infrared data, meteor data, and the diameter distribution of lunar microcraters. This allowed the constraint of various model parameters.Results.We present here the first attempt at generating a model that can simultaneously describe these sets of observations. Extended collisional lifetimes are found to be necessary for larger (radius ≥ 150μm) particles. The observations are best fit with a differential size distribution that is steep (slope = 5) for radii ≥ 150μm, and shallower (slope = 2) for smaller particles. At the Earth the model results in ~ 90–98% Jupiter-family comet meteoroids, and small contributions from asteroidal and Halley-type comet particles. In COBE data we find an approximately 80% contribution from Jupiter-family comet meteoroids and 20% from asteroidal particles. The resulting flux at the Earth is mostly within a factor of about two to three of published measurements.

Possibility of C/2002 CE10 in state of retrograde-polar resonance with Saturn in the future

Many objects in the Solar System which are associated or in resonance state with the giant planets have low orbital inclination. The effect of resonance that occurs on high-inclination objects is not well-known. This study describes results of numerical studies in term of orbital evolution of a high inclination Halley-Type Comet C/2002 CE10 (LINEAR). The ephemeris data was taken from JPL Small Body Database (https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb_query.cgix) at the epoch of MJD 58200. We report that C/2002 CE10 (LINEAR), whose inclination is 145°, will be in a retrograde 1:-1 (co-orbital - trisectrix type) resonance with Saturn for about 600 thousand years in the future. This resonance state is examined using the method FAIR (Fast Identification of Mean Motion Resonance). C/2002 CE10 (LINEAR) exhibits chaotic orbits and may not be stable in the resonance state. While data quality of the provided orbital elements is not quite good, orbital evolutions of clones of C/2002 CE10 (LINEAR) show small possibility that the object will be in the resonance state (retrograde co-orbital) with Saturn in the future.

A Comprehensive Model of the Meteoroid Environment around Mercury

Abstract To characterize the meteoroid environment around Mercury and its contribution to the planet’s exosphere, we combined four distinctive sources of meteoroids in the solar system: main-belt asteroids, Jupiter-family comets, Halley-type comets, and Oort Cloud comets. All meteoroid populations are described by currently available dynamical models. We used a recent calibration of the meteoroid influx onto Earth as a constraint for the combined population model on Mercury. We predict vastly different distributions of orbital elements, impact velocities, and directions of arrival for all four meteoroid populations at Mercury. We demonstrate that the most likely model of Mercury’s meteoroid environment—in the sense of agreement with Earth—provides good agreement with previously reported observations of Mercury’s exosphere by the MESSENGER spacecraft and is not highly sensitive to variations of uncertain parameters such as the ratio of these populations at Earth, the size–frequency distribution, and the collisional lifetime of meteoroids. Finally, we provide a fully calibrated model consisting of high-resolution maps of mass influx and surface vaporization rates for different values of Mercury’s true anomaly angle.

Dynamical evolution and end states of active and inactive Centaurs

We numerically study the dynamical evolution of observed samples of active and inactive Centaurs and clones that reach the Jupiter-Saturn region. Our aim is to compare the evolution between active and inactive Centaurs, their end states and their transfer to Jupiter family comets and Halley-type comets. We find that the median lifetime of inactive Centaurs is about twice longer than that for active Centaurs, suggesting that activity is related to the residence time in the region. This view is strengthened by the observation that high-inclination and retrograde Centaurs (Tisserand parameters with respect to Jupiter TJ<2) which have the longest median dynamical lifetime (=1.37×106 yr) are all inactive. We also find that the perihelion distances of some active, comet-like Centaurs have experienced drastic drops of a few au in the recent past (∼102−103 yr), while such drops are not found among inactive Centaurs. Inactive Centaurs with TJ≲2.5 usually evolve to Halley-type comets, whereas inactive Centaurs with TJ≳2.5 and active Centaurs (that also have TJ≳2.5) evolve almost always to Jupiter family comets and very seldom to Halley type comets. Inactive Centaurs are also more prone to end up as sungrazers, and both inactive and active Centaurs transit through different mean motion resonances (generally with Jupiter) during their evolution.

Behavioral Characteristics and CO+CO2 Production Rates of Halley-type Comets Observed by NEOWISE

Abstract From the entire data set of comets observed by NEOWISE, we have analyzed 11 different Halley-type Comets (HTCs) for dust production rates, CO+CO2 production rates, and nucleus sizes. Incorporating HTCs from previous studies and multiple comet visits, we have a total of 21 stacked visits, 13 of which are active and 8 for which we calculated upper limits of production. We determined the nucleus sizes of 27P, P/2006 HR30, P/2012 NJ, and C/2016 S1. Furthermore, we analyzed the relationships between dust production and heliocentric distance, and gas production and heliocentric distance. We concluded that for this population of HTCs, ranging in heliocentric distance from 1.21 to 2.66 au, there was no significant correlation between dust production and heliocentric distance, nor between gas production and heliocentric distance.

Origin and Evolution of Short-period Comets

Abstract Comets are icy objects that orbitally evolve from the trans-Neptunian region into the inner solar system, where they are heated by solar radiation and become active due to the sublimation of water ice. Here we perform simulations in which cometary reservoirs are formed in the early solar system and evolved over 4.5 Gyr. The gravitational effects of Planet 9 (P9) are included in some simulations. Different models are considered for comets to be active, including a simple assumption that comets remain active for perihelion passages with perihelion distance . The orbital distribution and number of active comets produced in our model is compared to observations. The orbital distribution of ecliptic comets (ECs) is well reproduced in models with and without P9. With P9, the inclination distribution of model ECs is wider than the observed one. We find that the known Halley-type comets (HTCs) have a nearly isotropic inclination distribution. The HTCs appear to be an extension of the population of returning Oort-cloud comets (OCCs) to shorter orbital periods. The inclination distribution of model HTCs becomes broader with increasing , but the existing data are not good enough to constrain from orbital fits. is required to obtain a steady-state population of large active HTCs that is consistent with observations. To fit the ratio of the returning-to-new OCCs, by contrast, our model implies that , possibly because the detected long-period comets are smaller and much easier to disrupt than observed HTCs.

Reconciling the Dawn–Dusk Asymmetry in Mercury’s Exosphere with the Micrometeoroid Impact Directionality

Abstract Combining dynamical models of dust from Jupiter-family comets and Halley-type comets, we demonstrate that the seasonal variation of the dust/meteoroid environment at Mercury is responsible for producing the dawn–dusk asymmetry in Mercury’s exosphere observed by the MESSENGER spacecraft. Our latest models, calibrated recently from ground-based and space-borne measurements, provide unprecedented statistics that enable us to study the longitudinal and latitudinal distribution of meteoroids impacting Mercury’s surface. We predict that the micrometeoroid impact vaporization source is expected to undergo significant motion on Mercury’s surface toward the nightside during Mercury’s approach to aphelion and toward the dayside when the planet is approaching the Sun.

The Perihelion Emission of Comet C/2010 L5 (WISE)

Abstract The only Halley-type comet discovered by the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), C/2010 L5 (WISE), was imaged three times by WISE, and it showed a significant dust tail during the second and third visits (2010 June and July, respectively). We present here an analysis of the data collected by WISE, putting estimates on the comet’s size, dust production rate, gas production (CO+CO2) rate, and active fraction. We also present a detailed description of a novel tail-fitting technique that allows the commonly used syndyne–synchrone models to be used analytically, thereby giving more robust results. We find that C/2010 L5's dust tail was likely formed by strong emission, likely in the form of an outburst, occurring when the comet was within a few days of perihelion. Analyses of the June and July data independently agree on this result. The two separate epochs of dust tail analysis independently suggest a strong emission event close to perihelion. The average size of the dust particles in the dust tail increased between the epochs, suggesting that the dust was primarily released in a short period of time, and the smaller dust particles were quickly swept away by solar radiation pressure, leaving the larger particles behind. The difference in CO2 and dust production rates measured in 2010 June and July is not consistent with “normal” steady-state gas production from a comet at these heliocentric distances, suggesting that much of the detected CO2 and dust was produced in an episodic event. Together, these conclusions suggest that C/2010 L5 experienced a significant outburst event when the comet was close to perihelion.

Sources of cosmic dust in the Earth's atmosphere.

There are four known sources of dust in the inner solar system: Jupiter Family comets, asteroids, Halley Type comets, and Oort Cloud comets. Here we combine the mass, velocity, and radiant distributions of these cosmic dust populations from an astronomical model with a chemical ablation model to estimate the injection rates of Na and Fe into the Earth's upper atmosphere, as well as the flux of cosmic spherules to the surface. Comparing these parameters to lidar observations of the vertical Na and Fe fluxes above 87.5 km, and the measured cosmic spherule accretion rate at South Pole, shows that Jupiter Family Comets contribute (80 ± 17)% of the total input mass (43 ± 14 t d−1), in good accord with Cosmic Background Explorer and Planck observations of the zodiacal cloud.

Dynamical analyses on the transitivity from JFC and Centaur regions to NEAs with Tisserand parameters from 2 to 3

We study the contribution of JFC (Jupiter family comet) and Centaur regions to the NEA (near Earth asteroid) population having Tisserand parameters for Jupiter between 2 and 3. We define a region for JFCs (aphelion distance (Q) >4.61au, perihelion distance (q) <4.95au, >1.3au) and we check the contributions of selected bodies (JFCs, Centaurs, Halley-type comets (HTCs), some elliptic comets, and some outer main belt asteroids) from various regions to the NEA region. Additionally, we integrated NEAs with Tisserand parameters for Jupiter (TJ) between 2 and 3 and their clones backward in time to see whether there was a strong dynamical path between those NEAs and the defined JFC region. As a result, 35.1% of the orbits from the defined JFC region turned out to be Earth-crossing orbits for forward integrations, while 66.7% of NEAs (2<TJ<3) reached the JFC region for backward integrations. Considering these probabilities, 304 orbits of today’s JFC regional bodies can contribute the Earth-crossing asteroids in 0.55Myr. Almost 254 NEA regional bodies look like they came from the defined region in a comparable time interval (0.80Myr).

The end states of long-period comets and the origin of Halley-type comets

We analyze a sample of 73 old long-period comets (LPCs) (orbital periods $200 < P < 1000$ yr) with perihelion distances $q < 2.5$ au, discovered in the period 1850-2014. We cloned the observed comets and also added fictitious LPCs with perihelia in the Jupiter's zone. We consider both a purely dynamical evolution and a physico-dynamical one with different physical lifetimes. We can fit the computed energy distribution of comets with $q < 1.3$ au to the observed one only within the energy range $0.01 < x < 0.04$ au$^{-1}$ (or periods $125 < P < 1000$ yr), where the "energy" is taken as the inverse of the semimajor axis $a$, namely $x \equiv 1/a$. The best results are obtained for physical lifetimes of about 200-300 revolutions (for a comet with a standard $q = 1$ au). We find that neither a purely dynamical evolution, nor a physico-dynamical one can reproduce the long tail of larger binding energies ($x \gsim 0.04$ au$^{-1}$) that correspond to most Halley-type comets (HTCs) and Jupiter-family comets. We conclude that most HTCs are not the end states of the evolution of LPCs, but come from a different source, a flattened one that we identify with the Centaurs that are scattered to the inner planetary region from the trans-Neptunian belt. These results also show that the boundary between LPCs and HTCs should be located at an energy $x \sim 0.04$ au$^{-1}$ ($P \sim 125$ yr), rather than the conventional classical boundary at $P = 200$ yr.

Perspectives on Comets, Comet-like Asteroids, and Their Predisposition to Provide an Environment That Is Friendly to Life.

In recent years, studies have shown that there are many similarities between comets and asteroids. In some cases, it cannot even be determined to which of these groups an object belongs. This is especially true for objects found beyond the main asteroid belt. Because of the lack of comet fragments, more progress has been made concerning the chemical composition of asteroids. In particular, the SMASSII classification establishes a link between the reflecting spectra and chemical composition of asteroids and meteorites. To find clues for the chemical structure of comets, the parameters of all known asteroids of the SMASSII classification were compared to those of comet groups like the Encke-type comets, the Jupiter-family comets, and the Halley-type comets, as well as comet-like objects like the damocloids and the centaurs. Fifty-six SMASSII objects similar to comets were found and are categorized as comet-like asteroids in this work. Aside from the chemistry, it is assumed that the available energy on these celestial bodies plays an important role concerning habitability. For the determination of the available energy, the effective temperature was calculated. Additionally, the size of these objects was considered in order to evaluate the possibility of a liquid water core, which provides an environment that is more likely to support processes necessary to create the building blocks of life. Further study of such objects could be notable for the period of the Late Heavy Bombardment and could therefore provide important implications for our understanding of the inner workings of the prebiotic evolution within the Solar System since the beginning.