PlumX Metrics
Embed PlumX Metrics

Comet 108P/Ciffreo: The Blob

Astronomical Journal, ISSN: 0004-6256, Vol: 165, Issue: 4
2023
  • 1
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 4
    Captures
  • 1
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    1
  • Captures
    4
  • Mentions
    1
    • References
      1
      • Wikipedia
        1

Article Description

Short-period comet 108P/Ciffreo is known for its peculiar double morphology, in which the nucleus is accompanied by a comoving, detached, diffuse “blob.” We report new observations of 108P/Ciffreo taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Nordic Optical Telescope and use them to determine the cause of this unusual morphology. The separation and the longevity of the blob across several orbits together rule out the possibility of a single, slow-moving secondary object near the primary nucleus. We use a model of coma particle dynamics under the action of solar gravity and radiation pressure to show that the blob is an artifact of the turnaround of particles ejected sunward and repelled by sunlight. Numerical experiments limit the range of directions which can reproduce the morphology and explain why the comoving blob appearance is rare.

Provide Feedback

Have ideas for a new metric? Would you like to see something else here?Let us know