[Previous] | [Session 44] | [Next]
D. M. Harrington, K. J. Meech, J. Kuhn (IFA), L. Kolokolova (Univ. MD), J. Pittichova (IfA, Slovak Acad. Sci.), D. M. Harrington, K. J. Meech, J. Kuhn (IFA), L. Kolokolova (Univ. MD), J. Pittichova (IfA, Slovak Acad. Sci.)
Spectropolarimetry can be used to measure polarization of cometary continua as a function of wavelength and phase angle to learn about the dust properties. The wavelength dependence of the polarization is mainly controlled by the complex refractive index of the material making up the particles, and the spectral dependence of the intensity is also sensitive to the size of the particles. We will use the new IfA-designed high-resolution spectropolarimeter (R ~ 12000 to 49000, from 5400 to 9900 Angstroms) mounted on the AEOS 3.7m telescope on Haleakala, Maui to characterize the size and composition of dust grains ejected from the comets. We will combine optical measurements of dust comae, Finson-Probstein dust-dynamical models (to get particle size distributions), and polarization spectra to study the composition of the dust grains in comet 9P/Tempel 1 both pre- and post impact to look for dust compositional changes between the pristine interior materials and the surface dust on the nucleus.
Support for this work was provided through University of Maryland and University of Hawaii subcontract Z667702, which was awarded under prime contract NASW-00004 from NASA.
[Previous] | [Session 44] | [Next]
Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #3
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.