Abstract
The Halley optical probe experiment (HOPE) aboard the Giotto spacecraft has provided the first measurements of the optical properties of the dust and of some gaseous species (CN, C2, CO+ and OH) from inside the coma of comet Halley. The dust spatial distribution, inferred from sunlight scattering, obeys an r−2 law for distances from the nucleus r⩾2,000 km. The more rapid increase of dust density with distance observed in the innermost coma probably reflects the presence of a jet, or a surge of activity within a few hours before closest approach. The CN and OH signals increase more slowly than the dust signals, but faster than predicted by a simple model (of solar-excited resonance fluorescence) for the distribution of these species1. This effect is probably caused in part by the dust contribution, as well as by the production from parent molecules of OH and CN in an excited state.
Enjoying our latest content?
Log in or create an account to continue
- Access the most recent journalism from Nature's award-winning team
- Explore the latest features & opinion covering groundbreaking research
or
References
Festou, M. Astr. Astrophys. 95, 69–79 (1981).
Levasseur-Regourd, A. C. et al. Eur. Space Ag. spec. Publ. 169, 121–126 (1981).
Levasseur-Regourd, A. C. et al. Adv. Space Res. 4, 287–290 (1984).
Levasseur-Regourd, A. C. et al. in Eur. Space Ag. spec. Publ. 1077, 187–193 (1986).
Perrin, J. M. & Lamy, P. Optica Acta 30, 1223 (1983).
Divine, N. et al. Space Sci. Rev. 43, 1–104 (1986).
Festou, M. & Feldman, P. Astr. Astrophys. 103, 154–159 (1981).
Festou, M. Bull. Am. astr. Soc. 16, 637 (1984).
Bertaux, J. L. Astr. Astrophys. (in the press).
Jackson, W. M. in Comets (ed. Wilkening, L. L.) 480–495 (University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1982).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Levasseur-Regourd, A., Bertaux, J., Dumont, R. et al. Optical probing of comet Halley from the Giotto spacecraft. Nature 321 (Suppl 6067), 341–344 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321341a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321341a0
This article is cited by
-
The Comet Interceptor Mission
Space Science Reviews (2024)
-
Dust Environment Modelling of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
Space Science Reviews (2007)
-
Comets
The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review (1993)