A Photometric and Dynamic Study of Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) from Observations at a Heliocentric Distance of ~4.1 AU

Abstract

An analysis is presented for the photometric data on comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) from observations at a large heliocentric distance (near 4.1 AU). Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) displays intense activity despite the relatively large heliocentric distance. The morphology of the comet's coma is analyzed. The following parameters are measured: the color indices V-R, the normalized spectral gradient of the reflectivity of the comet's dust S', and the dust production rate Af\r{ho}. A numerical simulation is performed for the evolution of the comet's orbit after a close encounter with Mars. The most probable values are obtained for the Keplerian orbital elements of the comet over a hundred-year period. The comet's orbit remains nearly parabolic after passing the orbits of all the Solar System planets.

11 pages, 10 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Initial Performance of the NEOWISE Reactivation Mission
• 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)
• Constraining the Dust Coma Properties of Comet C/Siding Spring (2013 A1) at Large Heliocentric Distances