The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes

Abstract

Around the time of its perihelion passage the observability of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Earth was limited to very short windows each morning from any given site, due to the low solar elongation of the comet. The peak in the comet's activity was therefore difficult to observe with conventionally scheduled telescopes, but was possible where service/queue scheduled mode was possible, and with robotic telescopes. We describe the robotic observations that allowed us to measure the total activity of the comet around perihelion, via photometry (dust) and spectroscopy (gas), and compare these results with the measurements at this time by Rosetta's instruments. The peak of activity occurred approximately two weeks after perihelion. The total brightness (dust) largely followed the predictions from Snodgrass et al. 2013, with no significant change in total activity levels from previous apparitions. The CN gas production rate matched previous orbits near perihelion, but appeared to be relatively low later in the year.

arXiv commentTo appear in special issue of MNRAS "The ESLAB 50 Symposium - spacecraft at comets from 1P/Halley to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko"

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• Diurnal variation of dust and gas production in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at the inbound equinox as seen by OSIRIS and VIRTIS-M on board Rosetta
• Searching for Outbursts in the Ground-Based Photometry of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
• Laboratory experiments on the sublimation of methane through ice dust layers and applications to cometary activity
• Detection of volatiles undergoing sublimation from 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko coma particles using ROSINA/COPS. II. The nude gauge
• Possibility of Concentration of Non-volatile Species near the Surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
• VLT spectropolarimetry of comet 67P: Dust environment around the end of its intense Southern summer