[45.11] Modeling the Morphology of Comet LINEAR (2001 A2)

AAS 201st Meeting, January, 2003
Session 45. The Solar System
Poster, Tuesday, January 7, 2003, 9:20am-6:30pm, Exhibit Hall AB

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[45.11] Modeling the Morphology of Comet LINEAR (2001 A2)

L. M. Woodney (Lowell Observatory), K. M. Barkume (Reed College)

Studies of periodic changes in morphological features in a cometary coma can lead to an understanding of several basic physical properties of the cometary nucleus, such as rotation rate, pole orientation, and location an composition of active regions on the surface.

Imaging of Comet LINEAR (2001 A2) obtained at the Lowell Observatory June 29 - 30, 2001 revealed CN arcs symmetrical about p.a. 250^o. Three successive arcs separated by approximately 12 000 km were observed on each side; outward motion of the arcs was detected. Similar arcs are seen in C₂ and C₃, but no jets are observed in the dust continuum. No jet structure is apparent by our next set of observations on July 8. We will present results from Monte Carlo modeling of these gas jets.

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