Photometry of Comet P/Halley on 1986 March 19

Abstract

Photometric observations of the Comet P/Halley are described with specific data given regarding the fluxes in the coma and the dust tail and their molecular contents. The observed magnitude of the solar-type star HD 105590 is used to reduce the observed extinction-corrected magnitudes of the comet for International Halley Watch (IHW) filters to corresponding IHW magnitudes. The fluxes of the emission bands are listed including those for CN, C3, CO(+), C2, and H2O(+) based on calculations of production rates and number of molecules. Approximately equal fluxes are noted for C3 and CN, and the maximum flux in the coma is that of the C2 molecule. In the observations of the tail, no flux is reported for the molecules CO(+) and H2O(+), and reduced fluxes for CN, C3, and C2 are noted. The observational data facilitate the calculations of production rates for cometary neutral molecules.