Rocket ultraviolet spectroscopy of comet Halley and abundance of carbon monoxide and carbon

Two far ultraviolet observations of comet Halley made on 26 February, 1986 and 13 March, 1986 with a sounding rocket experiment are reported. The observed CO spatial profiles can be modelled by a radial outflow model for a parent molecule and suggest that the CO is produced directly from the nucleus of the comet. Using the observed O I emission profile to deduce the H2O production rate, the abundance of CO relative to H2O is found to be 20 percent + or - 5 percent for the first flight and 17 percent + or - 4 percent for the second flight, making CO the second most abundant parent molecule in the coma. The derived production rate of atomic carbon is consistent with that expected from the photodissociation of carbon monoxide.