The Rotation of Comet 1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) at Perihelion

Session 88 - Comet Hale-Bopp.
Oral session, Friday, January 09
International Ballroom Center,

[88.01] The Rotation of Comet 1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) at Perihelion

M. Kidger, J. Licandro, N. Sabalisk (Instituto de Astrof\'\i sica de Canarias), B. Goetz (Astron. Institut. Munich), P. Santos (Dept. de Astrof\'\i sica, U. de La Laguna), M. Serra-Ricart, L. Bellot, R. Casas, A. Gómez (Inst. de Astrof\'\i sica de Canarias), L. Jorda (MPI f. Aeronomie), G. -P. Tozzi (Oss. Astr. Firenze), D. Osip (U. Florida), H. Boehnhardt (Astron. Institut. Munich), R. West (ESO Garching)

Narrow band near infrared images of comet 1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), where obtained in day-time, during April 1997, using the 1.52m Carlos Sánchez Telescope, at Teide Observatory (Tenerife, Spain), by the Comet Hale Bopp European Team. The comet was observed continuously for up to 11 hours hours each day on a total of 15 days. This allows us to obtain a complete map of the rotation of the comet's nucleus, and the evolution of the structures observed in the inner coma. These observations were part of a long-term monitoring campaign of the comet's inner-coma morphology which started in August 1995. A long-enduring polar fan structure was observed on 76 nights pre-perihelion, from March to September 1996, in broadband R CCD images obtained with the 0.82m IAC-80 and 0.5m Mons telescopes at Teide Observatory. These images allow us to obtain the spin axis orientation of the comet with considerable precision. Preliminary results, combining these data sets, are presented on the rotation period, pole orientation, and evolution of the active zones.

Program listing for Friday