Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Is CO2 responsible for the outbursts of comet Halley?

Abstract

Outbursts are thought to originate from the nucleus of comet Halley; cameras on the Vega and Giotto spacecraft have recorded the images of jets1,2, and rapid fluctuations are seen in the visible light curve, detected, for example, by the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite during the time the spacecraft were making their observations3. This activity does not appear to be limited to when the comet is near perihelion, but has been reported for heliocentric distances >4.6AU pre-perihelion4. The outbursts are probably triggered by the heating of relatively volatile material within the ice. We report here spectroscopic data from the IUE showing a strong correlation between a visible outburst in the near-nucleus region on 18.8 March 1986 and the sudden appearance of a large column abundance of CO+2 ions in the tail. These data suggest that CO2 may play a significant role in the outburst process. This outburst may have been the source of the detached clumps of CO+ emission recorded by ground-based observers on 19 and 20 March 19865,6

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Sagdeev, R. Z. et al. Nature 321, 262–266 (1986).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Keller, H. U. et al. Nature 321, 320–326 (1986).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Festou, M. C. et al. Nature 321, 361–363 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Festou, M. C. et al. Astr. Astrophys. (in the press).

  5. Pedersen, H. & Vio, R. IAU Circ. No. 4198 (1986).

  6. Rees, D., Meredith, N. & Wallis, M. Adv. Space Res. 5, 255–262 (1986).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Weaver, H. A., Feldman, P. D., Festou, M. C. & A'Hearn, M. F. Astrophys. J. 251, 809–819 (1981).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Feldman, P. D., A'Hearn, M. F. & Millis, R. L. Astrophys. J. 282, 799–802 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Festou, M. C., Feldman, P. D. & Weaver, H. A. Astrophys. J. 256, 331–338 (1982).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Feldman, P. D. & A'Hearn, M. F. in Ices in the Solar System (ed. Klinger, J. et al.) 453–461 (Reidel, Dordrecht, 1985).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  11. Fox, J. L. & Dalgarno, A. J. Geophys. Res. 84, 7315–7333 (1979).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Rahe, J., McCracken, C. W. & Donn, B. D. Astr. Astrophys. Suppl. 23, 13–35 (1976).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Krankowsky, D. et al. Nature 321, 326–329 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Feldman, P. D. et al. in New Insights in Astrophysics, 8 Years of UV Astronomy with IUE, 39–42 (European Space Agency, SP-263, (1986).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Huebner, W. F. & Carpenter, C. W., Solar Photo Rate Coefficients, LA-8085-MS, Los Alamos National Laboratory (1979).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Gringauz, K. I. et al. Nature 321, 282–285 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Woods, T. N., Feldman, P. D., Dymond, K. & Sahnow, D. J. Nature 324, 436–438 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Feldman, P. D. & Brune, W. H. Astrophys. J. 209, L45–L48 (1976).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Magnani, L. & A'Hearn, M. F. Astrophys. J. 302, 477–487 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Greenberg, J. M. in Cometary Exploration Vol. 2 (ed. T. I. Gombosi) 23–54 (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, 1983).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Oyama, K., Hirao, K., Hirano, T., Yumoto, K. & Saito, T. Nature 321, 310–313 (1986).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Wallis, M. K. & Ip, W.-H. Nature 298, 229–234 (1982).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Feldman, P., A'Hearn, M., Festou, M. et al. Is CO2 responsible for the outbursts of comet Halley?. Nature 324, 433–436 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/324433a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/324433a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing