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C.W. Hergenrother, J.V. Scotti, S.M. Larson (LPL/U. Arizona), B.G. Marsden (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
Total magnitude measurements by a select group of CCD observers are used to obtain heliocentric light curves for a number of Jupiter Family Comets. Observations were made at over a half dozen telescopes in Arizona, Japan and Slovenia at various heliocentric distances. The light curves allow us to make estimates of a comet's nuclear size, activity "turn on" and "turn off" points, rates of dust production and phase angle function. Spacecraft targets such as 9P/Tempel 1, 19P/Borrelly and 81P/Wild 2 will be presented.
This work has been supported by NASA Planetary Astronomy Program grant NAG5-4049