Deuterium in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp): detection of DCN.
Deuterated hydrogen cyanide (DCN) was detected in a comet, C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), with the use of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The inferred deuterium/hydrogen (D/H) ratio in hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is (D/H)HCN = (2.3 +/- 0.4) x 10(-3). This ratio is higher than the D/H ratio found in cometary water and supports the interstellar origin of cometary ices. The observed values of D/H in water and HCN imply a kinetic temperature >/=30 +/- 10 K in the fragment of interstellar cloud that formed the solar system.
Meier
R
R
University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. meier@uhifa.ifa.hawaii.edu
Owen
T C
TC
Jewitt
D C
DC
Matthews
H E
HE
Senay
M
M
Biver
N
N
Bockel e-Morvan
D
D
Crovisier
J
J
Gautier
D
D
D003903:Deuterium / Q000032:analysis*; D006856:Hydrogen Cyanide / Q000032:analysis*; D007053:Ice; D019110:Meteoroids; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water
D007053:Ice; D014867:Water; D006856:Hydrogen Cyanide; D003903:Deuterium