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Related Experiment Videos

The HNC/HCN ratio in comets.

W M Irvine1, J E Dickens, A J Lovell

  • 1Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003, USA.

Earth, Moon, and Planets
|January 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary

Investigating comet Hale-Bopp, scientists found the ratio of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) to its isomer hydrogen isocyanide (HNC) increases as the comet nears the Sun. This suggests HNC is formed in the coma, not released from the nucleus.

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Area of Science:

  • Cometary science
  • Astrochemistry
  • Molecular spectroscopy

Background:

  • Comets are icy bodies that release gases as they approach the Sun.
  • Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and hydrogen isocyanide (HNC) are important molecules found in cometary comas.
  • Understanding the origin of these molecules helps decipher cometary composition and evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the abundance ratio of HCN and HNC in comet Hale-Bopp.
  • To determine if HNC is a parent molecule sublimating from the nucleus or produced in the coma.
  • To compare observational data with ion-molecule chemical models.

Main Methods:

  • Observations of the J = 4-3 rotational transitions of HCN and HNC.
  • Measurements conducted at heliocentric distances between 0.93 and 3 AU, pre- and post-perihelion.
Keywords:
NASA Discipline ExobiologyNon-NASA Center

Related Experiment Videos

  • Correction for optical depth of the HCN line.

    • Main Results:

    • The column density ratio of HNC to HCN significantly increases as comet Hale-Bopp approaches the Sun.
    • Observed trends are compared with predictions from an ion-molecule chemical model.
    • The data indicate a significant production of HNC through chemical processes within the cometary coma.

    Conclusions:

    • Hydrogen isocyanide (HNC) is primarily produced by chemical reactions in the coma of comet Hale-Bopp.
    • HNC is not a parent molecule sublimating directly from the comet's nucleus.
    • The study provides insights into the chemical processes occurring in cometary atmospheres.