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Chemical Theories on the Origin of Comets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Tetsuo Yamamoto
Tetsuo Yamamoto*
Affiliation:
Institute of Space and Astronautical ScienceYoshinodai 3-1-1, Sagamihara Kanagawa 229, Japan

Abstract

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Firstly, observational data available at present to infer physical conditions of the formation environment of cometary matter are briefly surveyed. These include the chemical and isotopic composition of cometary matter, and the nuclear spin temperature derived from the ortho/para abundance ratio of H2O molecules. Secondly, theories on the origin of comets—theories based upon the chemical composition of the volatile component of cometary matter—are reviewed. The theories are classified into two types, distinguished by whether cometary volatiles originate as solar nebula condensates or as the sublimation residue of interstellar ices. Observational items helpful to test the theories are pointed out. Thirdly, discussion is given on the physical properties of ices relevant to the chemical theory of the origin of comets.

Type
Section III: Comets, Origins, and Evolution
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 116 , Issue 1: Comets in the Post-Halley Era , 1989 , pp. 361 - 376
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1991

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