The Lyman-alpha observations of comet Kohoutek from Mariner 10
The paper presents the Lyman-alpha data from postperihelion observations of comet Kohoutek made with Mariner 10 UV spectrometer during the 1974 January 11-24 period when the comet distance from the sun varied from 0.521 AU to 0.860 AU. These data are analyzed to determine the hydrogen production rates. It is noted that observations against the low interplanetary background allowed a measurement of the hydrogen corona over 30 million km (or 15 minutes) as seen from the Mariner 10 spacecraft. The bulk of the observations can be fitted with a non-steady-state model assuming two velocity components (20 km/sec and 8 km/sec) of equal proportions. A 70% increase in the hydrogen production rate is found within 2 days from January 17 to 19 while the comet receded from the sun. Finally, it is noted that the postperihelion production rates from the Mariner 10 observations are comparable to the preperihelion production rates reported previously.