Chandra Observations of Comets 8P/Tuttle and 17P/Holmes during Solar Minimum

TL;DR

This study presents Chandra X-ray observations of comets 17P/Holmes and 8P/Tuttle during solar minimum, revealing differences in their X-ray spectra, luminosities, and interactions with the solar wind, providing insights into cometary and plasma physics.

Contribution

First high-latitude comet observation during solar minimum and comparative analysis of two comets' X-ray emissions and solar wind interactions.

Findings

17P produced over 100 times more water than 8P

17P's X-ray spectrum is unusually soft with most emission below 400 eV

8P was significantly brighter in X-ray flux and showed a decrease over time

Abstract

We present results for Chandra observations of comets, 17P/Holmes (17P) and 8P/Tuttle (8P). 17P was observed for 30 ksec right after its major outburst, on 31 Oct 2007 (10:07 UT) and comet 8P/Tuttle was observed in 2008 January for 47 ksec. During the two Chandra observations, 17P was producing at least 100 times more water than 8P but was 2.2 times further away from the Sun. Also, 17P is the first comet observed at high latitude (+19.1 degrees) during solar minimum, while 8P was observed at a lower solar latitude (3.4 degrees). The X-ray spectrum of 17P is unusually soft with little significant emission at energies above 500 eV. Depending on our choice of background, we derive a 300 to 1000 eV flux of 0.5 to 4.5 x 10^-13 ergs/cm2/sec, with over 90% of the emission in the 300 to 400 eV range. This corresponds to an X-ray luminosity between 0.4 to 3.3 x 10^15 ergs/sec. 17P's lack of X-rays in the 400 to 1000 eV range, in a simple picture, may be attributed to the polar solar wind, which is depleted in highly charged ions. 8P/Tuttle was much brighter, with an average count rate of 0.20 counts/s in the 300 to 1000 eV range. We derive an average X-ray flux in this range of 9.4 x 10^-13 ergs/cm2/sec and an X-ray luminosity for the comet of 1.7 x 10^14 ergs/sec. The light curve showed a dramatic decrease in flux of over 60% between observations on January 1st and 4th. When comparing outer regions of the coma to inner regions, its spectra showed a decrease in ratios of CVI/CV, OVIII/OVII, as predicted by recent solar wind charge exchange emission models. There are remarkable differences between the X-ray emission from these two comets, further demonstrating the qualities of cometary X-ray observations, and solar wind charge exchange emission in more general as a means of remote diagnostics of the interaction of astrophysical plasmas.