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Application of millimeter-wave remote sensing to the investigation of cometsIt is pointed out the despite years of investigation, the solid, quasi-permanent component of comets, the nucleus, remains largely a mystery. The composition and thermal properties of the nucleus determine the evolution of the more familiar and often spectacular cometary features, the coma and tail. Under certain circumstances, the nucleus may be obscured by a dust cloud of much higher temperature. The most appropriate technology for the investigation of the surface and subsurface layers of the nucleus is considered to be millimeter-wave sensing from an interplanetary spacecraft. Simple radiative transfer models, adapted from methods employed for the interpretation of remote-sensing data on terrestrial ice and snow fields, are used to predict the millimeter-wave spectra of representative model nuclei. The spectra determine the choice of the minimum set of observing frequencies that is required. An instrument configuration driven by these requirements and guided by available technology and the restraints of a proposed NASA spacecraft is then derived.
Document ID
19810052522
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Hobbs, R. W.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Brandt, J. C.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Maran, S. P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Chitwood, J. S.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Larsen, R. K.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Katz, C.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Md., United States)
Becker, S.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Rudish, R. M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Hendricks, R. K.
(Eaton Corp. AIL Div., Melville, N.Y., United States)
Swanson, P.
(California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena Calif., United States)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1981
Subject Category
Astronomy
Meeting Information
Meeting: Seminar on Millimeter optics
Location: Huntsville, AL
Start Date: October 1, 1980
End Date: October 2, 1980
Accession Number
81A36926
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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