Bibcode
Fernandez, Yanga; A'Hearn, Michael; Bauer, James; Campins, Humberto; Groussin, Olivier; Lamy, Philippe; Licandro, Javier; Lisse, Carey; Lowry, Stephen; Meech, Karen; Reach, William; Toth, Imre; Weaver, Harold
Bibliographical reference
Spitzer Proposal ID #30908
Advertised on:
5
2006
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
We propose to make an albedo and radius survey of 100 cometary nuclei
using IRS PU and MIPS imaging. We focus on Jupiter family comets (JFCs),
which have dynamical and evolutionary connections to other Solar System
groups: transneptunian objects (TNOs), Centaurs, Trojan asteroids, and
extinct comet candidates. However, among these groups, the nuclei of
JFCs remain the _only_ group not yet the subject of a detailed
mid-infrared survey. Understanding the evolution of comets since
formation is crucial for unlocking their secrets about the
thermophysical and compositional environment of the protoplanetary disk.
An important way to do this is to study comparisons and contrasts among
comets, and between comets and related dynamical groups. To this end, we
propose a mid-IR survey of JFCs. Our scientific goals are as follows. 1)
Measure the thermal emission from the JFC nuclei to calculate their
effective radii. 2) Use complementary ground-based visible-wavelength
observations to derive the nuclei's geometric albedos. Note that
simultaneity for these observations is not needed. 3) Compare the
cometary albedo distribution with those of Centaurs, TNOs, Trojans, and
extinct comet candidates to gauge the effects of surface evolution. The
glaring albedo difference between TNOs and Centaurs versus other groups
needs to be explained. 4) Test for correlations between cometary albedos
and other properties of the nuclei, such as composition and dynamical
age. 5) Resolve once and for all the long-standing question of just how
safe it is to assume an albedo for a cometary nucleus. 6) Use these
radii to derive a completely new and independent estimate of the current
JFC size distribution that will resolve the ongoing debate between
several groups. The number of targets in our sample is driven by the
need to test recent indications that the size distribution is truncated
at radii smaller than 2 km. In such a case, ours would be the definitive
study of the JFC size distribution.