NEOWISE observations of comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) as it approaches Mars
arXiv:1412.2117 · doi:10.1088/2041-8205/798/2/L31
Abstract
The Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission observed comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) three times at 3.4 μm and 4.6 μm as the comet approached Mars in 2014. The comet is an extremely interesting target since its close approach to Mars in late 2014 will be observed by various spacecraft in-situ. The observations were taken in 2014 Jan., Jul. and Sep. when the comet was at heliocentric distances of 3.82 AU, 1.88 AU, and 1.48 AU. The level of activity increased significantly between the Jan. and Jul. visits but then decreased by the time of the observations in Sep., approximately 4 weeks prior to its close approach to Mars. In this work we calculate Af\r{ho} values, and CO/CO2 production rates.
9 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Astrophysical Journal Letters
References in corpus (6)
- Initial Performance of the NEOWISE Reactivation Mission
- Ground-based Optical and SPITZER Infrared Imaging Observations of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner
- An Early Look of Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring): Breathtaker or Nightmare?
- Delivery of dust grains from comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) to Mars
- Trajectory analysis for the nucleus and dust of comet C/2013~A1 (Siding Spring)
- A Study of Dust and Gas at Mars from Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring)