Infrared pentrates the heart of Hale-Bopp

17 Jun 2002

Infrared measurements of Comet Hale-Bopp by Cornell University and NASA investigators are yielding valuable clues about the makeup of the celestial visitor and,perhaps, the origins of the solar system.

Using a combination infrared spectrometer and camera designed and built by Cornell University researchers and attached to the 200-inch telescope at PalomarObservatory, Cornell and NASA scientists have made ground-based measurements in an effort to learn what kind of stuff the comet is sloughing off as it approachesperihelion.

The spectra show that Hale-Bopp has an abundance of sub-micrometer size silicate grains. Some of these grains are crystalline, in contrast to the more amorphousstructure of the rest. This means that the grains were subjected to strong heating sometime in their history, before they were incorporated into the frozen cometnucleus about 4.5 billion years ago, NASA researchers say.