Date: Monday 02-Oct-2017
Time: 11:15-12:15
Location: Atlantic 1250
Speaker: Gerbs Bauer (UMD)
Title: Hot and Dusty: Active Small Body Observations with the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
The NEOWISE survey has detected over 160000 small bodies using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft, providing unprecedented statistics on the diameters and numbers for various populations. These infrared observations have directly yielded the underlying size distributions of the Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs), Jupiter Trojans, Main Belt Asteroids and Centaurs, but the active bodies, the comets, often have their nuclei obscured by dust comae. The 164 comets observed during the WISE/NEOWISE prime mission represent the largest infrared survey to date of comets, providing constraints on dust, nucleus size, and CO + CO2 production. The sample includes 56 long-period comets, as well as over 108 short-period comets, from a variety of cometary dynamical sub-classes. We present detailed analyses of the WISE/NEOWISE comet discoveries, and discuss observations of the active comets showing 4.6 micron band excess. We determine size constraints for the majority of the comets in the sample using coma extraction techniques. We also discuss dust tail analysis determining particle size and ejection time constraints.
For further information contact PALS coordinator Dr. Matthew Knight at knight@astro.umd.edu or (301)-405-2629.
SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS:Special accommodations for individuals with disabilities can be made by calling (301) 405-3001. It would be appreciated if we are notified at least one week in advance.
