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Flux ratio of C2 Swan bands in the innermost atmosphere of comet Halley

Nature volume 333, pages 435–436 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

The spectrophotometry of comet Halley performed by the three-channel spectrometer (TKS) aboard the Vega 2 spacecraft provides spectrometric data with an unprecedentedly high angular and spatial resolution. Here we report observations of the flux-ratio variation of the C2 Swan band sequence as it varies with distance from the comet nucleus. The flux in the C2 (Δv = +1) band relative to C2 (Δv = 0) increases toward the nucleus by at least a factor 1.6. Such an effect may be crucial for testing current theories of the resonance fluorescence radiation of the cometary C2 molecule.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astronomical Institute, University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Sternwartstrasse 7, 8600, Bamberg, FRG

    V. Vanysek

  2. Astronomical Institute, Czechoslovak Academy of Science, 251 66, Ondřejov, Czechoslovakia

    B. Valničk & J. Sudová

Authors
  1. V. Vanysek
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  2. B. Valničk
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  3. J. Sudová
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Vanysek, V., Valničk, B. & Sudová, J. Flux ratio of C2 Swan bands in the innermost atmosphere of comet Halley. Nature 333, 435–436 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333435a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/333435a0

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