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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

A Method for Studying the Temperature Dependence of Dynamic Fracture and Fragmentation
Published on: June 28, 2015
Parent volatiles in comet 9P/Tempel 1: before and after impact
Michael J Mumma1, Michael A DiSanti, Karen Magee-Sauer
1Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. michael.j.mumma@nasa.gov
Abstract:
We quantified eight parent volatiles (H2O, C2H6, HCN, CO, CH3OH, H2CO, C2H2, and CH4) in the Jupiter-family comet Tempel 1 using high-dispersion infrared spectroscopy in the wavelength range 2.8 to 5.0 micrometers. The abundance ratio for ethane was significantly higher after impact, whereas those for methanol and hydrogen cyanide were unchanged. The abundance ratios in the ejecta are similar to those for most Oort cloud comets, but methanol and acetylene are lower in Tempel 1 by a factor of about 2. These results suggest that the volatile ices in Tempel 1 and in most Oort cloud comets originated in a common region of the protoplanetary disk.
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