Is the Cometary Nucleus Extraction Technique Reliable?

Abstract

It depends. Our experiment reveals that, given an optically thin coma, generally, the smaller the signal ratio of nucleus to coma, the less reliable is the cometary nucleus-extraction technique. We strongly suggest the technique only be applied to cases where the nucleus signal occupies $\gtrsim$10% of the total signal wherein the bias is no more than a few percent. Otherwise there is probably no way to debias results from this technique in reality, since its reliability is highly sensitive to entangling complications, including the coma profile, and the point-spread function (PSF).

arXiv commentAccepted by PASP. The last figure in this arXiv version contains two mysterious horizontal and vertical streaks, possibly due to compiling issues

References in corpus (14)

• Cosmic-Ray Rejection by Laplacian Edge Detection
• The Photometric Performance and Calibration of the HST Advanced Camera For Surveys
• Steady-State Size Distributions for Collisional Populations: Analytical Solution with Size-Dependent Strength
• Color Systematics of Comets and Related Bodies
• Thermal Properties, Sizes, and Size Distribution of Jupiter-Family Cometary Nuclei
• Initial Planetesimal Sizes and the Size Distribution of Small Kuiper Belt Objects
• Spitzer Space Telescope Observations of the Nucleus of Comet 103P/Hartley 2
• A Comet Active Beyond the Crystallization Zone
• CO-Driven Activity in Comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS)
• Prediscovery Observations and Orbit of Comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS)
• Trajectory analysis for the nucleus and dust of comet C/2013~A1 (Siding Spring)
• Constraining the Dust Coma Properties of Comet C/Siding Spring (2013 A1) at Large Heliocentric Distances
• The Unusual Apparition of Comet 252P/2000 G1 (LINEAR) and Comparison with Comet P/2016 BA14 (PanSTARRS)
• Two Hyperbolic Baldheads in the Solar System: 2017 U7 and 2018 C2

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Origin and evolution of long-period comets
• The Nucleus of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov
• The Orbit and Size-Frequency Distribution of Long Period Comets Observed by Pan-STARRS1
• Hubble Space Telescope Detection of the Nucleus of Comet C/2014 UN${}_{271}$ (Bernardinelli-Bernstein)
• Spitzer Space Telescope observations of bilobate comet 8P/Tuttle