Date: Monday 10-Feb-2020
Time: 11:15-12:15
Location: ATL 1250
Speaker: Nathan Roth (GSFC)
Title: Nature vs. Nurture - The Hypervolatile Content of Short-Period Comets
Understanding the evolution of the solar system, as well as its current volatile content, requires knowledge of the initial conditions present in the protosolar nebula. As some of the first objects to accrete in the protosolar nebula, cometary nuclei are among the most primitive remnants of solar system formation. Their composition provides a record of the chemistry and thermodynamical processes present in the protosolar nebula at the time of planet formation, and characterizing their inventory of nucleus ices can provide valuable insights into nascent solar system conditions.
However, it is not clear whether (and if so, to what extent) repeated close encounters with the Sun play a role in setting the present-day measured composition of volatiles in periodic comets. Measurements of the most volatile molecules systematically observed in comets, the “hypervolatiles” CO, CH4, and C2H6, via high-resolution near-infrared spectroscopy, may offer a path to disentangling evolutionary from natal effects in such comets. Unfortunately, complete hypervolatile inventories of periodic comets are rare owing to the difficulty of such observations. I will provide an overview of near-infrared spectroscopy of comets to date, and will discuss the implications of recent work analyzing the hypervolatile composition of three short period comets: 2P/Encke, 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, and 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova.
For further information contact PALS coordinator Dr. Lori Feaga at feaga@astro.umd.edu or (301)-405-1383.
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.
