Secular Light Curves of Comets C/2011 L4 Panstarrs and C/2012 S1 ISON Compared to 1P/Halley

TL;DR

This study constructs and compares secular light curves of comets C/2011 L4 Panstarrs, C/2012 S1 ISON, and 1P/Halley using extensive observational data to analyze their brightness evolution near perihelion.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed comparison of secular light curves for these comets, enhancing understanding of their activity patterns.

Findings

C/2011 L4 Panstarrs and C/2012 S1 ISON show distinct brightness behaviors.

Comparison reveals similarities and differences with comet 1P/Halley.

Preliminary insights into comet activity as they approach perihelion.

Abstract

We used 1329 observations of comet C/2011 L4 Panstarrs and 1897 observations of C/2012 S1 ISON to create the Secular Light Curves (SLCs), and to compare them to comet 1P/Halley (3172 observations). These comets are at the present time approaching perihelion. Thus the information contained in this report is preliminary.