The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society (천문학회보)

The Korean Astronomical Society (한국천문학회)
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Polarimetric Survey of Comet 46P/Wirtanen

  • Zubko, Evgenij (Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences) ;
  • Zheltobryukhov, Maxim (Institute of Applied Astronomy of RAS) ;
  • Chornaya, Ekaterina (Far Eastern Federal University) ;
  • Zubko, Evgenij (Humanitas College, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Ivanova, Oleksandra V. (Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences) ;
  • Kochergin, Anton (Far Eastern Federal University) ;
  • Kornienko, Gennady (Institute of Applied Astronomy of RAS) ;
  • Luk'yanyk, Igor (Astronomical Observatory, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv) ;
  • Matkin, Alexey (Institute of Applied Astronomy of RAS) ;
  • Molotov, Igor E. (Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences) ;
  • Kim, Sungsoo S. (Humanitas College, Kyung Hee University) ;
  • Videen, Gorden (Space Science Institute)
  • Published : 2019.10.14
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Abstract

Comet 46P/Wirtanen is a Jupiter-family comet whose orbital period is of approximately 5.44 years and perihelion lying at about 1.06 au. The comet is known for being a primary target of the Rosetta space mission prior to it being rescheduled to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In its 2018 apparition, comet 46P approached Earth within ~0.08 au, which made possible its study with relatively small telescopes. We used this rare opportunity to conduct a comprehensive study of the 46P polarization from November 16, 2018, about a month prior to its perihelion passage December 12, until January 17, 2019. Over this two-month time period, weather conditions were favorable on 13 nights. Observations were made with the 22-cm telescope located at the Ussuriysk Astrophysical Observatory (code C15), which operates within the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON). We will report our findings at the conference.

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