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Published Online September 15, 2005
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1119337

Reports

Submitted on August 25, 2005
Accepted on September 9, 2005

Parent Volatiles in Comet 9P/Tempel 1: Before and After Impact

Michael J. Mumma 1*, Michael A. DiSanti 1, Karen Magee-Sauer 2, Boncho P. Bonev 3, Geronimo L. Villanueva 1, Hideyo Kawakita 4, Neil Dello Russo 5, Erika L. Gibb 6, Geoffrey A. Blake 7, James E. Lyke 8, Randall D. Campbell 8, Joel Aycock 8, Al Conrad 8, Grant M. Hill 8

1 Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
2 Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ 08028-1701, USA.
3 Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Ritter Astrophysical Research Center, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606, USA.
4 Department of Physics, Kyoto Sangyo University, Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan.
5 Space Department, Planetary Exploration Group, Applied Physics Laboratory/Johns Hopkins University, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723-6099, USA.
6 Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri - Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121-4499, USA.
7 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
8 W. M. Keck Observatory, 65-1120 Mamalahoa Highway, Kameula, HI 96743, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Michael J. Mumma , E-mail: michael.j.mumma{at}nasa.gov

We quantified eight parent volatiles (H2O, C2H6, HCN, CO, CH3OH, H2CO, C2H2, and CH4) in the Jupiter-family comet Tempel-1 using high-dispersion infrared spectroscopy in the wavelength range 2.8-5.0 µm. The abundance ratio for ethane was significantly higher after impact (UT 4 July) whereas those for methanol and hydrogen cyanide were unchanged. The abundance ratios in the ejecta are similar to most Oort-cloud comets, but methanol and acetylene are lower in Tempel-1 by a factor of about two. These results suggest that the volatile ices in Tempel-1 and in most Oort-cloud comets originated in a common region of the protoplanetary disk.



THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Deep Impact: Observations from a Worldwide Earth-Based Campaign.
K. J. Meech, N. Ageorges, M. F. A'Hearn, C. Arpigny, A. Ates, J. Aycock, S. Bagnulo, J. Bailey, R. Barber, L. Barrera, et al. (2005)
Science 310, 265-269
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »



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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)