Parent volatiles in comet 9P/Tempel 1: before and after impact.
We quantified eight parent volatiles (H2O, C2H6, HCN, CO, CH3OH, H2CO, C2H2, and CH4) in the Jupiter-family comet Tempel 1 using high-dispersion infrared spectroscopy in the wavelength range 2.8 to 5.0 micrometers. The abundance ratio for ethane was significantly higher after impact, whereas those for methanol and hydrogen cyanide were unchanged. The abundance ratios in the ejecta are similar to those for most Oort cloud comets, but methanol and acetylene are lower in Tempel 1 by a factor of about 2. These results suggest that the volatile ices in Tempel 1 and in most Oort cloud comets originated in a common region of the protoplanetary disk.
Mumma
Michael J
MJ
Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. michael.j.mumma@nasa.gov
DiSanti
Michael A
MA
Magee-Sauer
Karen
K
Bonev
Boncho P
BP
Villanueva
Geronimo L
GL
Kawakita
Hideyo
H
Dello Russo
Neil
N
Gibb
Erika L
EL
Blake
Geoffrey A
GA
Lyke
James E
JE
Campbell
Randall D
RD
Aycock
Joel
J
Conrad
Al
A
Hill
Grant M
GM
D018538:Jupiter; D019110:Meteoroids; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D014835:Volatilization
D009930:Organic Chemicals