Reference International Astronomical Union electronic telegram No. 2524. Contact Nicolas Biver (Observatoire de Paris, LESIA et CNRS) Jacques Crovisier (Observatoire de Paris, LESIA et CNRS)
Last update on 21 December 2021
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Home > Current events > Current research > News from the labs > The Odin satellite observes water in comet 103P/Hartley 2
1 November 2010
The Comet Hartley 2 orbits the Sun with a period of 6.5 years. This year, it passed closest to the Sun on 28 October at 1.059 AU (Astronomical Unit= distance Sun-Earth=150 millions km) and on 20 October, it was only at 0.121 AU from the Earth! An international team, with astronomers from Paris Observatory, took this opportunity to observe the fundamental line of water at 557 GHz with the satellite Odin. The comet produces 180 to 300kg of water per second, and this production varies in time, certainly in phase with the rotation of the comet’s nucleus.
Reference International Astronomical Union electronic telegram No. 2524. Contact Nicolas Biver (Observatoire de Paris, LESIA et CNRS) Jacques Crovisier (Observatoire de Paris, LESIA et CNRS)
Last update on 21 December 2021