2022/11/16 by Charles E. Goldberg, Goldberg, Charles, Cassandra Lejoly +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrophysics #Coma (optics) #Comet #Declination #Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP) #FOS: Physical sciences #Galaxy #Jet (fluid) #Mechanics #Meteorology #Nuclear Physics and Applications #Outflow #Physics #Position angle #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2211.09258
openalex publication_date 2022/11/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We analyze jet features found in the coma of Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner (21P/GZ) during its 2018 perihelion passage using narrowband CN photometric imaging in order to determine the comet's rotational period, and constrain the CN gas outflow velocity and rotational state through the analysis of azimuthally enhanced morphological features. We find that 21P/GZ has a period of either 7.39 ± 0.01 or 10.66 ± 0.01 hours. We measure a lower limit to the outflow velocity for the Northern Jet of 730 ± 30 m s-1 and for the Southern Jet of 740 ± 30 m s-1. We analyze the morphologies of the jet features and determine that the Northern jet possesses a corkscrew pattern, and utilize that knowledge to determine a rotational pole position at a Right Ascension of 169+28-23∘ and a Declination of 73+5-11∘, with undetermined sense of rotation.