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arXiv · 1811.06762

Photometric Study of the C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) Comet Plasma Tails

Valery V. Kleschonok·Igor V. Luk'yanyk·Yury M. Gorbanev·Volodymyr Kashuba
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Abstract

Observations of C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) comet were carried out on 7th February, 2015, at the observation station in Mayaki village (No. 583 -- Odesa-Mayaki observatory). The integrated-light photometry of the comet was conducted using RC-800 telescope (D = 80 cm; F = 214.0 cm) with FLI MicroLine 9000 CCD camera. The photometric primary reductions included dark-frame subtraction and flat-field correction. The photometric study of the comet plasma tails was performed using an interactive program to construct a series of longitudinal and transverse profiles of individual tail rays. The Shulman diffusion model was applied to interpret the calculated photometric profiles. The comparison of the experimental profiles and those calculated theoretically from the diffusion model enabled us to estimate the following physical parameters of the comet plasma tail: acceleration a = 176 m/sec$^2$ and lifetime of fluorescent ions $τ$ = 2.7$\cdot$10$^3$ sec; longitudinal and transverse diffusion coefficients, and magnetic flux density B = 97 $\pm$ 5.3 nT.

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Valery V. Kleschonok, Igor V. Luk'yanyk, Yury M. Gorbanev, Volodymyr Kashuba. 2018-11-16. Photometric Study of the C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) Comet Plasma Tails. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2018.04.007

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