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[15.04] BIMA Array Spectral Line Observations of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1)

L. E. Snyder, J. M. Veal (U. Illinois), L. M. Woodney, M. F. A'Hearn (U. Maryland), Y.-J. Kuan (Nat'l Taiwan Normal U. \& ASIAA), J. R. Forster, M. C. H. Wright, R. L. Plambeck, I. de Pater (U. California, Berkeley), M. W. Pound (U. California, Berkeley \& U. Maryland), G. Engargiola (U. California, Berkeley), Patrick Palmer (U. Chicago)

We present sample images and spectra of HCN, CH₃OH, and CS from comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) observed with the BIMA Array. These observations illustrate the value of array measurements in order to determine the origins, spatial distributions, production rates, and photodissociation scale lengths of cometary species. In particular, we have modeled BIMA Array single-field images of CS and HCN emission from comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 O1) to determine molecular photodissociation lifetimes. Haser modeling of our HCN images yields scale length values which are in excellent agreement with both the theoretical prediction (Huebner, Keady, & Lyon 1992, A&SS, 195, 1) and our previous mosaiced image value (Wright et al. 1998, AJ, 116, 3018). On the other hand, this same method applied to CS gives a scale length which is ~ 10 times smaller than the commonly accepted value. Consequently, the CS fraction in comets is increased with respect to some earlier determinations.

This work was partially funded by: NASA NAG5-4292, NAG5- 4080, and NGT5-0083; NSF AST 96-13998, AST96-13999, AST96- 13716, and AST96-15608; Taiwanese grants NSC 86-2112-M-003-T and 87-2112-M-003-007; and the Universities of Illinois, Maryland, and California, Berkeley.

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