Submillimeter Continuum Observations of Comets

Abstract

The aim of this proposal was to study the submillimeter continuum emission from comets. The study was based mainly on the exploitation of the world's leading submillimeter telescope, the JCMT (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope) on Mauna Kea. Submillimeter wavelengths provide a unique view of cometary physics for one main reason. The cometary size distribution is such that the scattering cross-section is dominated by small dust grains, while the mass is dominated by the largest particles. Submillimeter continuum radiation samples cometary particles much larger than those sampled by more common observations at shorter (optical and infrared) wavelengths and therefore provides a nearly direct measure of the cometary dust mass.