Comptes Rendus
Probing matter with electromagnetic waves / Sonder la matière par les ondes électromagnétiques
Comets at radio wavelengths
Comptes Rendus. Physique, Volume 17 (2016) no. 9, pp. 985-994.

Comets are considered as the most primitive objects in the Solar System. Their composition provides information on the composition of the primitive solar nebula, 4.6 Gyr ago. The radio domain is a privileged tool to study the composition of cometary ices. Observations of the OH radical at 18 cm wavelength allow us to measure the water production rate. A wealth of molecules (and some of their isotopologues) coming from the sublimation of ices in the nucleus have been identified by observations in the millimetre and submillimetre domains. We present an historical review on radio observations of comets, focusing on the results from our group, and including recent observations with the Nançay radio telescope, the IRAM antennas, the Odin satellite, the Herschel space observatory, ALMA, and the MIRO instrument aboard the Rosetta space probe.

Les comètes sont considérées comme les vestiges les mieux préservés du système solaire primitif. Leur composition nous renseigne sur la composition de la nébuleuse primitive il y a 4,6 milliards d'années, fournissant des contraintes sur la formation du système solaire. La radioastronomie est un outil privilégié pour l'étude des glaces cométaires. Le domaine décimétrique permet de mesurer la production en eau, par l'observation du radical OH à 18 cm de longueur d'onde. Le domaine millimétrique et submillimétrique permet d'observer de nombreuses molécules provenant de la sublimation des glaces du noyau, ainsi que leurs isotopologues. Nous présentons un panorama historique des découvertes sur les comètes faites en radioastronomie, mettant l'accent sur les résultats de notre groupe, et incluant des observations récentes faites avec le radiotélescope de Nançay, les antennes de l'IRAM, le satellite Odin, l'observatoire spatial Herschel, ALMA et l'instrument MIRO de la sonde spatiale Rosetta.

Published online:
DOI: 10.1016/j.crhy.2016.07.020
Keywords: Comets, Chemical composition, Radio astronomy, Solar System formation
Mot clés : Comètes, Composition chimique, Formation du système solaire, Radioastronomie

Jacques Crovisier 1; Dominique Bockelée-Morvan 1; Pierre Colom 1; Nicolas Biver 1

1 LÉSIA, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC, Université Paris-Diderot, 5, place Jules-Janssen, 92195 Meudon, France
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Jacques Crovisier; Dominique Bockelée-Morvan; Pierre Colom; Nicolas Biver. Comets at radio wavelengths. Comptes Rendus. Physique, Volume 17 (2016) no. 9, pp. 985-994. doi : 10.1016/j.crhy.2016.07.020. https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/physique/articles/10.1016/j.crhy.2016.07.020/

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