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  • Comet Halley
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Television observations of comet Halley from Vega spacecraft

Nature volume 321, pages 262–266 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

The television system (TVS) aboard the spacecraft Vega 1 and Vega 2 observed comet Halley from 4 to 11 March 1986, and transmitted ∼1,500 images to Earth. The best images of the cometary nucleus were obtained from distances of 8,000–9,000 km. The nucleus is an irregular potato-shaped body, ∼14 × 7.5 × 7.5 km in size, which rotates with a period of 53±3 h. The surface is rather dark; the measured albedo is ∼0.04−0.01+0.02. Active emission of matter was observed on the sunlit side of the nucleus.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Space Research Institute, Profsoyuznaya 84/32, 117810, Moscow, GSP-7, USSR

    R. Z. Sagdeev, G. A. Avanesov, I. V. Barinov, V. I. Kostenko, V. A. Krasikov, V. A. Shamis, K. G. Sukhanov, V. I. Tarnopolsky, Yu. K. Zaiko, S. I. Zatsepin, Ya. L. Ziman & B. S. Zhukov

  2. Central Research Institute for Physics, PO Box 49, H-1525, Budapest, 114, Hungary

    F. Szabó, L. Szabó, K. Szegő, A. Balazs, G. Endröczy, M. Gardos, M. Kanyo, Z. Nyitrai, I. Reny, P. Rusznyak, B. Smith, F. Szabó, S. Szalai, I. Toth, L. Varhalmi & M. Zsenei

  3. Laboratoire d'Astronomie Spatiale CNRS, 13012, Marseille, France

    P. Cruvellier, M. Detaille & T. Nguyen-Trong

  4. Service d'Aéronomie CNRS, 91370, Verrières-le-Buisson, France

    A. Abergel, J.-L. Bertaux, J. Blamont & E. Demarelis

  5. Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics, Leningrad, USSR

    G. N. Dul'nev & G. Tsukanova

  6. Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czechoslovakia

    B. I. Valníček

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  1. R. Z. Sagdeev
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  2. F. Szabó
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  4. P. Cruvellier
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  5. L. Szabó
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  14. G. N. Dul'nev
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  15. G. Endröczy
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  16. M. Gardos
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  17. M. Kanyo
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  18. V. I. Kostenko
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  19. V. A. Krasikov
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  20. T. Nguyen-Trong
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  21. Z. Nyitrai
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  22. I. Reny
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  23. P. Rusznyak
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  24. V. A. Shamis
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  25. B. Smith
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  26. K. G. Sukhanov
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  27. F. Szabó
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  28. S. Szalai
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  29. V. I. Tarnopolsky
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  30. I. Toth
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  31. G. Tsukanova
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  32. B. I. Valníček
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  33. L. Varhalmi
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  34. Yu. K. Zaiko
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  35. S. I. Zatsepin
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  36. Ya. L. Ziman
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  37. M. Zsenei
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  38. B. S. Zhukov
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Sagdeev, R., Szabó, F., Avanesov, G. et al. Television observations of comet Halley from Vega spacecraft. Nature 321 (Suppl 6067), 262–266 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/321262a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/321262a0

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