Wirtanen data available at various archive sites
A number of different data sets are available. These were acquired on
previous apparitions as parts of surveys or in support of the Rosetta
mission (when Wirtanen was the target). Some of the data sets are
compilations of data from many different comets, of which Wirtanen is one.
In these cases, the date range given specifies the dates for Wirtanen
only. Click on the Dataset Name for more information.
NASA Planetary Data System (Small Bodies Node)
Hubble Space Telescope Archive (Mirrored at ESA PSA)
Spitzer Space Telescope Archive
ESA Planetary Science Archive
Detailed information about each data set
BVRI Photometry measured off CCD images
| Date Range: | 1996-06-13 to 1996-08-18 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 2.99 to 2.53 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 2.41 to 1.55 AU |
| Phase angle: | 17.8° to 7.1° |
| Publications: |
Meech et al., A&A 326, 1268-1276, 1997 |
| Archive Site: | PDS SBN |
| DATA SET ID | EAR-C-COMPIL-5-LIGHTCURVES-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | This is a dataset that compiles the data
from various papers, which reported observations of brightness changes
in comets that allowed to produce the comet lightcurves.
Specifically, the data were based on the references in the paper by
Samarasinha et al. (2004), i.e. they are those lightcurves, which
were used to find out the rotational properties of the comet nuclei
(periods, rotation vector coordinates, spin mode, etc.) reported by
Samarasinha et al. (2004). |
Derived water production rates, obtained from SOHO SWAN observations
| Date Range: | 1997-01-21 to
1997-04-30
2002-07-13 to 2002-10-29 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 1.26 through 1.064 to 1.24 AU
1.21 through 1.061 to 1.35 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 1.67 through 1.50 to 1.63
1.71 through 1.62 to 1.85 AU |
| Phase angle: | 35.0° to 40.6°
31.0° to 37.1° |
| Publications: |
Combi et al., Astron. J. 141, 128, 2011. |
| Archive Site: | PDS SBN |
| DATA SET ID | urn:nasa:pds:soho:swan_derived::1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | This data collection contains derived
water production rates for numerous comets observed by the SOHO SWAN
instrument from 1996 to 2012. Multiple measurements were made for each
comet through a single perihelion passage and some comets were observed
over multiple epochs. The production rates were derived by modeling the
observed distribution of atomic hydrogen in the comae of the comets.
|
Infrared images obtained by the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX)
| Date Range: | 1996-12-07 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 1.62 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 1.73 AU |
| Phase angle: | 34° |
| Publications: |
Kraemer et al., AJ, 130:2363-2382, 2005 |
| Archive Site: | PDS SBN |
| DATA SET ID | MSX-C-SPIRIT3-3-MSXSB-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | Eight comets, two transition objects,
and two near-Earth asteroids were imaged in six infrared bands with
the Spirit III instrument on the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX).
This data set contains the calibrated images. |
Narrowband photometry of 85 comets taken by A'Hearn and Millis primarily
at Lowell Observatory
| Date Range: | 1991-10-11 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 1.12 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 1.41 AU |
| Phase angle: | 45.6° |
| Publications: |
A'Hearn et al., Icarus 118, 223, 1995
|
| Archive Site: | PDS SBN |
| DATA SET ID | EAR-C-PHOT-5-RDR-LOWELL-COMET-DB-PR-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | The database presented here is comprised
entirely of observations made utilizing conventional photoelectric
photometers and narrowband filters isolating 5 emission species (OH, NH,
CN, C3 and C2) and continua. This work was initiated by A'Hearn and
Millis in 1976 and includes 2020 observations of 85 comets obtained over
429 nights through the end of 1992. The total number of observations,
however, is not evenly distributed over the 85 comets. The median number
of observations for a comet is 6, with only a single observation obtained
for 14 comets while there were 820 observations of P/Halley. The majority
of observations were obtained at either Lowell Observatory or Perth
Observatory, however four other observatories were used including an
extensive campaign on comet P/Halley from the Cerro Tololo Interamerican
Observatory (CTIO). In this archive, results for a subset of 68 comets
are presented while the results for P/Halley from this study are archived
in the IHW archive.
|
Derived production rates and error bars from the Lowell Observatory Cometary Database
This collection presents comet polarimetry results collected and
tabulated from both published literature and unpublished sources
Physical characteristics of comets observed from -466 to 1975, compiled
by S. K. Vsekhsvyatskii
| Date Range: | 1947 to 1974 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | N/A |
| Geocentric Distance: | N/A |
| Phase angle: | N/A |
| Publications: |
|
| Archive Site: | PDS SBN |
| DATA SET ID | EAR-C-5-DDR-PCC-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | This dataset is a compilation of
observational measurements on comet morphology and magnitude covering
just over a thousand apparitions of various comets from -466 to
1975. |
Size, shape, albedo and color data for various
comets collected from a number of papers in the literature.
| Date Range: | N/A |
| Heliocentric Distance: | N/A |
| Geocentric Distance: | N/A |
| Phase angle: | N/A |
| Publications: |
|
| Archive Site: | PDS SBN |
| DATA SET ID | EAR-C-COMPIL-5-COMET-NUC-PROPERTIES-V2.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | This data set presents data for the
sizes, shapes, albedos and colors of Cometary Nuclei for the sources
mentioned above and includes references for the sources cited. In some
cases, the authors have culled the data from published or well-known
unpublished sources, and have indicated what they judge to be the most
reliable value available. Version 2.0 of this data set was created due
to an addition of more recent data since version 1.0 was released in
2005 and to correct typographical errors in comet names, discovery IDs,
and references used in several data products. Note: the data contained
in this dataset were obtained from the Lamy dataset listed
below. |
Information on spin states of comets as published in 'Comets II'
| Date Range: | N/A |
| Heliocentric Distance: | N/A |
| Geocentric Distance: | N/A |
| Phase angle: | N/A |
| Publications: |
Samarasinha, et al. Comets II, pg 281, 2004 |
| Archive Site: | PDS SBN |
| DATA SET ID | EAR-C-COMPIL-5-COMET-NUC-ROTATION-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | This data set presents Table 1 of
Samarasinha, et al. (2004): 'Information on spin states of specific
comets', as published in 'Comets II' (Festou, Keller and Weaver,
eds.). |
HST Photometry and lightcurve measurements
| Date Range: | 1996-08-28 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 2.45 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 1.51 AU |
| Phase angle: | 10.6° |
| Publications: |
Lamy et al A&A 335, L25-L29, 1998 |
| Archive Site: | HST Archive (MAST) or ESA PSA |
| HST Proposal # | HST Proposal 6634 |
| ESA DATA SET ID | HST-C-WFPC2-2-EDR-WIRTANEN-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT | We propose Planetary Camera observations of
comet 46P/Wirtanen, which is the
target of the approved ROSETTA rendezvous mission, the third cornerstone of
the ESA Horizon 2000 program. Except for a few photographic "nuclear"
magnitudes which suggest a radius of 1.6 km (assuming an albedo of 0.04),
little is known about the properties of its nucleus and it is of utmost
importance to attempt to characterize it to the fullest possible
extent. Unfortunately,comet 46P/Wirtanen will not come close to the Earth
during the next decade so that the only possible approach to studying the
nucleus consists in observing it at large heliocentric distances when the
activity is very low. The high spatial resolution offered by the Planetary
Camera (100 km for 2 pixels) and its high sensitivity will allow us to detect
any faint coma and substract it with minimal assumptions. We propose to
measure the V and R magnitudes of the nucleus in order to derive its color,
and we plan to study its rotational properties by measuring its projected
cross sections as a function of time. We have an approved program to observe
the nucleus of comet 46P/Wirtanen with ISOCAM in the thermal infrared so that
we shall derive its albedo and in turn its size with very minimal asumptions
by combining HST and ISO observations. Should structures be detected in the
faint coma, we shall map the sources of dust on the nucleus. The
determination of these basic properties is essential for the preparation of
the ROSETTA mission. |
HST Faint Object Spectrograph observations (222 - 328 nm)
| Date Range: | 1996-07-22, 1996-08-25 and 1997-01-15 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 2.72, 2.47, 1.31 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 1.78, 1.51, 1.69 AU |
| Phase angle: | 10.1°, 9.8°, 35.3° |
| Publications: |
Stern et al. A&A 335, L30-L36, 1998 |
| Archive Site: | HST Archive (MAST) or ESA PSA |
| HST Proposal # | HST Proposal 7204 |
| ESA DATA SET ID | HST-C-FOS-3-RSA-WIRTANEN-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT | The ALICE Ultraviolet Spectrometer team for the
International Rosetta mission
(a collaboration between ESA and NASA) requests HST DD time to obtain
observations of the Rosetta Mission target, comet 46P/Wirtanen, as a part of
our instrument design activity. Our specific objectives are to:(i)
characterize the variation in UV emissions (particularly, OH) with
heliocentric distance in the critical 2-3 AU distance regime where Rosetta
will rendezvous with the comet, and(ii) to obtain reflectance spectra of the
nucleus, before the comet reaches 2.8 AU and becomes very active, so that
far-UV design requirements can be based on data rather than supposition. We
propose to use the FOS with grating G270H to meet these objectives. Comet
P/Wirtanen has never been observed in the UV, and will reach perihelion in
Cycle 6. This is the last perihelion before the launch of Rosetta in
2003. HST is the only observatory capable of obtaining UV spectra of
P/Wirtanen. |
IRS observations to measure spectral energy distribution from 5-40 microns
| Date Range: | 2007-12-08 to 2008-07-03 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 1.29 through 1.06 to 2.08 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 0.59 through 0.35 to 1.92 AU |
| Phase angle: | 49.7° through 71.9° to 29.0° |
| Publications: |
|
| Archive Site: | IPAC Infrared Science Archive |
| PROGRAM NAME/ID | WIRTANEN/40042 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | We propose a 9.7 hr project to study, in-depth, the dust of comet
46P/Wirtanen through Spitzer/IRS observations of its ejected grains. The
relative locations of comet Wirtanen, Spitzer, and the Sun allow for a
continuous visibility window 230 days in length, centered near the comet's
perihelion (February 2008). The excellent capabilities of the IRS allow us to
take advantage of this rare opportunity throughout the entire visibility
window. We will monitor and assess the ejected dust mineralogy as insolation
varies on the nucleus and the comet undergoes vigorous coma activity, giving
us insight into the structure of comet Wirtanen's nucleus and the mineralogy
of its formation zone in the early solar system. Our AORs are designed to
attain signal-to-noise ratios large enough to detect crystalline silicates in
this ecliptic comet, similar to those found in the pre-Deep Impact spectrum
of comet 9P/Tempel. The proposed observations will observe the comet six
times to obtain complete spectral energy distributions from 5-40 microns (9.5
hr), as comet Wirtanen travels from 1.5 AU pre-perihelion through 2.0 AU
post-perihelion. The resultant data set will be, in terms of signal-to-noise
and temporal coverage, analogous to the data obtained by the many mid-IR
investigations of comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp). We also request one MIPS
observation (0.2 hr) at 2.5 AU pre-perihelion to verify the comet's ephemeris
and nucleus size, and to study the largest grains ejected during previous
perihelia. |
Survey of CO2 measurements in various comets.
| Date Range: | 2017-07-31 to 2017-08-01 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 4.18 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 4.11 AU |
| Phase angle: | 13.9° |
| Publications: |
|
| Archive Site: | PDS SBN |
| PROGRAM NAME/ID | COMETTRENDS2/13116 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | Carbon dioxide is a primary volatile in comet nuclei, and potentially a major contributor to comet activity (i.e., the process of mass loss). However, CO2 cannot be observed directly from the ground, and past surveys of this molecule in comets were limited to space-borne snapshot observations. This situation limits our understanding of the behavior of CO2 in comets, and its role in driving comet mass loss. To address this deficiency, we were awarded a Cy11 Spitzer program designed to quantify the production rate of CO2 on >month-long timescales for 21 comets. We request an additional 269~hr in Cy13 to complete the Spitzer portion of our survey, and to add three more comets (46P/Wirtanen and 2 Target of Opportunity Oort cloud comets). Our survey is designed to probe the orbital trends of CO2 production in the comet population. We aim to: 1) examine the role of CO2 in the persistent post-perihelion activity observed in Jupiter-family comets; 2) measure the seasonal variations of CO2/H2O as a proxy for nucleus heterogeneity, when possible; 3) search for orbital trends sensitive to cumulative insolation as a proxy for nucleus layering; and 4) examine how Oort cloud comets evolve by comparing dynamically new and old targets. The final data set will allow us to investigate the effects of heating on the evolution of comets, if nucleus structures can be inferred through activity, and set the stage for JWST investigations into comet activity and composition.
|
Observed fluxes and derived production rates of different
gas species in comet Wirtanen
| Date Range: | 1991-10-11
1997-02-12 to 1997-07-01 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 1.12 AU
1.14 through 1.07 to
1.72 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 1.41 AU
1.60 through 1.054 to
2.31 AU |
| Phase angle: | 45.6°
37.1° through 40.8° to 23.9° |
| Publications: |
Farnham & Schleicher, A&A 335, 50, 1998 |
| Archive Site: | ESA PSA |
| DATA SET ID | LOWELL-C-PHOT-3-RSA-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | This data set contains the observed
fluxes and derived production rates of different gas species in comet
Wirtanen, obtained from narrowband photometry obtained at Lowell
observatory in October 1991 and between February and July
1997. |
Visible wavelength images of Comet Wirtanen obtained at La
Silla with the ESO EFOSC2
| Date Range: | 1996-05-11 to 1996-12-11 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 3.21 to 1.60 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 3.09 through 1.50 to 1.74 AU |
| Phase angle: | 18.5° through 6.2° to 33.8° |
| Publications: |
|
| Archive Site: | ESA PSA |
| DATA SET ID | ESO-C-EFOSC2-3-RSA-WIRTANEN-IMG-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | Images obtained with the Faint
Object Spectrograph and Camera II at the La Silla Observatory (ESO) of
comet Wirtanen. The data were obtained in May through December
1996. |
Visible wavelength spectra of Comet Wirtanen obtained at La
Silla with the ESO EFOSC2
| Date Range: | 1996-07-10 to 1996-12-10 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 2.82 to 1.60 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 1.96 through 1.50 to 1.74 AU |
| Phase angle: | 13.4° through 6.2° to 33.8° |
| Publications: |
Schulz et al., A&A 335, 46, 1998. |
| Archive Site: | ESA PSA |
| DATA SET ID | ESO-C-EFOSC2-3-RSA-WIRTANEN-SPEC-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | Spectra obtained with the Faint
Object Spectrograph and Camera II at the La Silla Observatory (ESO) of
comet Wirtanen. The data were obtained during July and December
1996. |
Visible wavelength images of Comet Wirtanen obtained at La
Silla with the DFOSC
| Date Range: | 1996-04-25 to 1996-12-08 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 3.31 to 1.62 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 3.41 to 1.50 AU |
| Phase angle: | 18.6° through 6.2° to 33.7° |
| Publications: |
|
| Archive Site: | ESA PSA |
| DATA SET ID | ESO-C-DFOSC-3-RSA-WIRTANEN-IMG-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | Images spectral images of standard stars
and of comet Wirtanen obtained with the Danish Faint Object Spectrograph
and Camera (DFOSC) instrument at the ESO Observatory La Silla in Chile. The
data were obtained from April to December 1996. |
Images of Comet Wirtanen obtained at Pik Terskol
Observatory with the AMEI
| Date Range: | 1997-03-03 to 1997-03-11 |
| Heliocentric Distance: | 3.6 AU |
| Geocentric Distance: | 4.3 AU |
| Phase angle: | 10° |
| Publications: |
Jockers et al., A&A 335, 56, 1998. |
| Archive Site: | ESA PSA |
| DATA SET ID | TSK-C-RCC-CAL-RSA-WIRTANEN-V1.0 |
| ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION | Calibrated images from the AMEI
Two-Channel Focal Reducer on the Ritchey-Chretien-Coude telescope on the
Pik Terskol Observatory of comet Wirtanen obtained in April
1997. |