Groundbased cometary studies

Abstract

The physical properties of comets were studied by applying a wide variety of observational techniques. Emphasis is on simultaneous or coordinated observations in different spectral regions (e.g., visible and thermal IR or visible and far UV) or with different instrumentation (imaging, spectroscopy, and photometry). The aim was to: (1) measure the basic properties of cometary nuclei by studying comets whose comae are so anemic that the signal from the nucleus can be extracted; (2) investigate the group characteristics of comets by narrowband photometry applied uniformly to a large sample of comets; (3) understand the detailed physics and chemistry occurring in cometary comae through wide-field charge coupled device (CCD) imaging using narrow filters and through long-slit CCD spectroscopy; and (4) investigate the rotational states of comets through time-resolution photometry.