the spatial distribution of the dust and chemical components

Forums Comets C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) the spatial distribution of the dust and chemical components

#582975
Robin Leadbeater
Participant

I have finally completed the analysis of my spectroscopic cross sections through coma and tail taken 2020-07-13 and added a poster to my members page

https://britastro.org/node/23655

It shows some interesting differences in the distribution of the various components which make up the cometary material.

The CN and Sodium components are seen in both coma and tail but the C2 component which dominates the  coma emission spectrum  is absent in the tail, replaced by the CO+ component. 

The spatial distributions are significantly different for the various components. In particular the sodium emission in the coma is confined to a narrow central region but the CN component is widespread in both the coma and tail. The Sodium distribution in the tail is skewed anticlockwise relative to the dust, consistent with the presence of a separate sodium tail.

Cheers

Robin