Ultraviolet spectroscopy of comets using sounding rockets, IUE and Spacelab

Ultraviolet spectroscopy is a very powerful tool for the study of cometary atmospheres since the four elemental cosmic species, H, C, N and O, as well as several simple molecules made from these species, have their strong resonance transitions in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum. However, due to the opacity of the atmosphere to ultraviolet, these observations must be made from space. Results are presented for observations of sevral comets along with plans for further cometary spectroscopy.