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Science 7 August 1987:
Vol. 237. no. 4815, pp. 626 - 628
DOI: 10.1126/science.237.4815.626
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Articles

Evidence for Chain Molecules Enriched in Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen in Comet Halley

D. L. MITCHELL 1, R. P. LIN 2, K. A. ANDERSON 3, C. W. CARLSON 2, D. W. CURTIS 2, A. KORTH 4, H. RÈME 5, J. A. SAUVAUD 5, C. D'USTON 5, and D. A. MENDIS 6

1 Astronomy Department and Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.
2 Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.
3 Physics Department and Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.
4 Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie, Lindau, Federal Republic of Germany.
5 Centre d'Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, CNRS-Toulouse, France.
6 EECS, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093.

In situ measurements of the composition and spatial distribution of heavy thermal positive ions in the coma of comet Halley were made with the heavy-ion analyzer RPA2-PICCA aboard the Giotto spacecraft. Above 50 atomic mass units an ordered series of mass peaks centered at 61, 75, 91, and 105 atomic mass units were observed. Each peak appears to be composed of three or more closely spaced masses. The abundances decrease and the dissociation rates increase smoothly with increasing mass. These observations suggest the presence of chain molecules that are enriched in carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, such as polyoxymethylene (polymerized formaldehyde), in comet Halley.

Submitted on June 18, 1987
Accepted on July 7, 1987


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
First Polymer in Space Identified in Comet Halley.
W. F. HUEBNER (1987)
Science 237, 628-630
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