The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes

Colin Snodgrass; Cyrielle Opitom; Miguel de Val-Borro; Emmanuel Jehin; Jean Manfroid; Tim Lister; Jon Marchant; Geraint H. Jones; Alan Fitzsimmons; Iain A. Steele; Robert J. Smith; Helen Jermak; Thomas Granzer; Karen J. Meech; Philippe Rousselot; Anny-Chantal Levasseur-Regourd

doi:10.1093/mnras/stw2300

The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes

Colin Snodgrass, Cyrielle Opitom, Miguel de Val-Borro, Emmanuel Jehin, Jean Manfroid, Tim Lister, Jon Marchant, Geraint H. Jones, Alan Fitzsimmons, Iain A. Steele, Robert J. Smith, Helen Jermak, Thomas Granzer, Karen J. Meech, Philippe Rousselot, Anny-Chantal Levasseur-Regourd

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Abstract

Around the time of its perihelion passage the observability of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Earth was limited to very short windows each morning from any given site, due to the low solar elongation of the comet. The peak in the comet's activity was therefore difficult to observe with conventionally scheduled telescopes, but was possible where service/queue scheduled mode was possible, and with robotic telescopes. We describe the robotic observations that allowed us to measure the total activity of the comet around perihelion, via photometry (dust) and spectroscopy (gas), and compare these results with the measurements at this time by Rosetta's instruments. The peak of activity occurred approximately two weeks after perihelion. The total brightness (dust) largely followed the predictions from Snodgrass et al. 2013, with no significant change in total activity levels from previous apparitions. The CN gas production rate matched previous orbits near perihelion, but appeared to be relatively low later in the year.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	S138-S145
Number of pages	8
Journal	Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume	462
Issue number	Suppl 1
Early online date	12 Sep 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2300
Publication status	Early online date - 12 Sep 2016

Bibliographical note

To appear in special issue of MNRAS "The ESLAB 50 Symposium - spacecraft at comets from 1P/Halley to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko"

Keywords

astro-ph.EP

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The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes
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Snodgrass, C., Opitom, C., Val-Borro, M. D., Jehin, E., Manfroid, J., Lister, T., Marchant, J., Jones, G. H., Fitzsimmons, A., Steele, I. A., Smith, R. J., Jermak, H., Granzer, T., Meech, K. J., Rousselot, P., & Levasseur-Regourd, A-C. (2016). The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 462(Suppl 1), S138-S145. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2300

Snodgrass, Colin ; Opitom, Cyrielle ; Val-Borro, Miguel de ; Jehin, Emmanuel ; Manfroid, Jean ; Lister, Tim ; Marchant, Jon ; Jones, Geraint H. ; Fitzsimmons, Alan ; Steele, Iain A. ; Smith, Robert J. ; Jermak, Helen ; Granzer, Thomas ; Meech, Karen J. ; Rousselot, Philippe ; Levasseur-Regourd, Anny-Chantal. / The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes. In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 2016 ; Vol. 462, No. Suppl 1. pp. S138-S145.

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abstract = "Around the time of its perihelion passage the observability of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Earth was limited to very short windows each morning from any given site, due to the low solar elongation of the comet. The peak in the comet's activity was therefore difficult to observe with conventionally scheduled telescopes, but was possible where service/queue scheduled mode was possible, and with robotic telescopes. We describe the robotic observations that allowed us to measure the total activity of the comet around perihelion, via photometry (dust) and spectroscopy (gas), and compare these results with the measurements at this time by Rosetta's instruments. The peak of activity occurred approximately two weeks after perihelion. The total brightness (dust) largely followed the predictions from Snodgrass et al. 2013, with no significant change in total activity levels from previous apparitions. The CN gas production rate matched previous orbits near perihelion, but appeared to be relatively low later in the year.",

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Snodgrass, C, Opitom, C, Val-Borro, MD, Jehin, E, Manfroid, J, Lister, T, Marchant, J, Jones, GH, Fitzsimmons, A, Steele, IA, Smith, RJ, Jermak, H, Granzer, T, Meech, KJ, Rousselot, P & Levasseur-Regourd, A-C 2016, 'The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes', Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 462, no. Suppl 1, pp. S138-S145. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw2300

The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes. / Snodgrass, Colin; Opitom, Cyrielle; Val-Borro, Miguel de; Jehin, Emmanuel; Manfroid, Jean; Lister, Tim; Marchant, Jon; Jones, Geraint H.; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Steele, Iain A.; Smith, Robert J.; Jermak, Helen; Granzer, Thomas; Meech, Karen J.; Rousselot, Philippe; Levasseur-Regourd, Anny-Chantal.

In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 462, No. Suppl 1, 12.09.2016, p. S138-S145.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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T1 - The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes

AU - Snodgrass, Colin

AU - Opitom, Cyrielle

AU - Val-Borro, Miguel de

AU - Jehin, Emmanuel

AU - Manfroid, Jean

AU - Lister, Tim

AU - Marchant, Jon

AU - Jones, Geraint H.

AU - Fitzsimmons, Alan

AU - Steele, Iain A.

AU - Smith, Robert J.

AU - Jermak, Helen

AU - Granzer, Thomas

AU - Meech, Karen J.

AU - Rousselot, Philippe

AU - Levasseur-Regourd, Anny-Chantal

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