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arXiv · 2503.14071

First JWST spectrum of distant activity in Long Period Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos)

Colin Snodgrass·Carrie E. Holt·Michael S. P. Kelley·Cyrielle Opitom·Aurélie Guilbert-Lepoutre·Matthew M. Knight·Rosita Kokotanekova·Emmanuel Jehin·Elena Mazzotta Epifani·Alessandra Migliorini·Cecilia Tubiana·Marco Micheli·Davide Farnocchia
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Abstract

We observed the new Long Period Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos), inbound at 7 au from the Sun, using the NIRSpec integral field unit on JWST. The spectrum shows absorption features due to water ice in the coma and evidence for CO$_2$ driven activity, with a production rate of $Q(CO_2) = 2.546 \pm 0.019 \times 10^{25}$ molecules s$^{-1}$, and no emission features of water or CO. The latter is surprising, given that CO is more volatile than CO$_2$, and suggests that this comet may have lost its near-surface CO during its early evolution, before implantation in the Oort cloud.

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Colin Snodgrass, Carrie E. Holt, Michael S. P. Kelley, Cyrielle Opitom, Aurélie Guilbert-Lepoutre, Matthew M. Knight, Rosita Kokotanekova, Emmanuel Jehin, Elena Mazzotta Epifani, Alessandra Migliorini, Cecilia Tubiana, Marco Micheli, Davide Farnocchia. 2025-03-18. First JWST spectrum of distant activity in Long Period Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos). https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.14071

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