COSINE (Cometary Object Study Investigating their Nature and Evolution) I. Project Overview and General Characteristics of Detected Comets
Yuna G. Kwon, Dar W. Dahlen, Joseph R. Masiero, James M. Bauer, Yanga R. Fern\'andez, Adeline Gicquel, Yoonyoung Kim, Jana Pittichov\'a, Frank Masci, Roc M. Cutri, Amy K. Mainzer

TL;DR
This study analyzes 484 comets observed over 15 years by WISE/NEOWISE, revealing differences in brightness, activity, and evolution between long- and short-period comets, and establishing a foundation for future detailed analyses.
Contribution
First uniform infrared dataset of 484 comets from WISE/NEOWISE, providing insights into their brightness, activity, and evolutionary trends across populations.
Findings
LPCs are statistically brighter than SPCs at similar distances.
Comet activity peaks near perihelion with asymmetry in SPCs.
SPCs show steeper brightness change slopes than LPCs.
Abstract
We present the first results from the COSINE (Cometary Object Study Investigating their Nature and Evolution) project, based on a uniformly processed dataset of 484 comets observed over the full 15-year duration of the WISE/NEOWISE mission. This compilation includes 1,633 coadded images spanning 966 epochs with signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) greater than 4, representing the largest consistently analyzed infrared comet dataset obtained from a single instrument. Dynamical classification identifies 234 long-period (LPCs) and 250 short-period comets (SPCs), spanning heliocentric distances of 0.996--10.804 au. LPCs are statistically brighter than SPCs in the W1 (3.4 um) and W2 (4.6 um) bands at comparable heliocentric distances. Cometary activity peaks near perihelion, with SPCs exhibiting a pronounced post-perihelion asymmetry. Multi-epoch photometry reveals that SPCs show steeper brightening…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstro and Planetary Science · Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies · Astronomy and Astrophysical Research
