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:

Structures in the coma of comet Halley

Abstract

Dense dust jets are expected to be encountered by the spacecraft penetrating the coma of comet Halley in March 1986. At the time of encounters, remote observations of the global distribution of coma constituents will complement the detailed in situ measurements. Here we report ground-based measurements of the optical brightness distribution of the coma, made in November 1985, when the comet was at a distance of 1.75 AU from the Sun. From the total brightness we deduce a dust production rate of 1.5 × 106 g s−1, but our results show that cometary dust and gas production, which seem to be correlated, are strongly anisotropic and time-variable. Structures in the coma can be revealed by comparison with a physical model of the coma, but astrometry of the comet nucleus is adversely affected by the anisotropic brightness distribution in the coma.

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. Larson, S. M. & Sekanina, Z. Astr. J. 89, 571–578 (1984).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Sekanina, Z. & Larson, S. M. Astr. J. 89, 1408–1425 (1984).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Reinhard, R. Adv. Space Res. 2, 97–107 (1983).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Sagdeev, R. Z. et al. Adv. Space Res. 2, 83–90 (1983).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Massonne, L., Fertig, J., Grün, E. & Schwehm, G. in Asteroids, Comets, Meteors II (eds Lagerkvist, C.-I., Lindblad, B. A., Lundstedt, H. & Rickman, H.), 407–410 (in the press).

  6. Jockers, K. & Geyer, E. H. The ESO Messenger No. 42, 9 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Newburn, R. L. & Reinhard, R. Eur. Space Ag. spec. Publ. SP-174, 19–24 (1981).

  8. Newburn, R. L. ESA Eur. Space Ag. Spec. Publ. SP-174, 3–18 (1981).

  9. Cochran, A. L. Astr. J. 90, 2609–2614 (1985).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Sekanina, Z. IAU Circ. No. 4151 (1985).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Grün, E., Graser, U., Kohoutek, L. et al. Structures in the coma of comet Halley. Nature 321, 144–147 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321144a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321144a0

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