The ultraviolet spectrum of comet Seargent 1978m.
Keller, H. U.; Owen, T.; Smith, A. M.; Rahe, J.; Benvenuti, P.; Donn, B.; Jackson, M. W.; Delseme, A. H.
United States, Germany, Spain
Abstract
UV spectrograms of Comet Seargent (1978m) have been obtained with the IUE satellite in the low- (1.8-nm) and high- (0.1-nm) dispersion modes. In the long-wavelength region (189-340 nm) emission bands of OH, CS, CO2(+), NH, and CO(+) can be identified, and the rotational structure of OH could clearly be resolved. In the short-wavelength region (119-192 nm) emission lines of H(Lyman-alpha), O I, C I, and S I appear. These observations demonstrate that the IUE observatory can effectively be used to obtain high-quality spectra of comets as faint as ninth magnitude.