Collaborative Research: SEPPCoN, a Survey of the Ensemble Physical Properties of Cometary Nuclei

合作研究：SEPPCoN，彗星核整体物理性质的调查

• 批准号: 0808004
• 负责人: Yanga Fernandez
• 金额: $ 4.49万
• 依托单位: The University of Central Florida Board of Trustees
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-01 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0808004&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; SEPPCoN; Survey; Ensemble

AST-0808004/0807521/0808139Fernandez/Meech/LowryThese collaborative awards support the group formed to carry out SEPPCoN, a Survey of the Ensemble Physical Properties of Cometary Nuclei. This is a large multi-wavelength project to understand the distribution of sizes, albedos, colors, shapes, and rotations of the current comet population in the Solar System, to investigate how comets have changed in the 4.6 billion years since their formation. This is important, because comets are used to probe the thermo-physical conditions of the proto-planetary disk that led to the formation of the solar system. Although this is a larger question than this survey can answer, SEPPCoN will address aspects related to the make-up of the nuclei themselves, including bulk strength, mass loss, fragmentation, albedos, colors, and axial ratios. Good understanding requires observing a significant sample of the comet population, and this project starts by focusing on Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) with an initial sample of 100 JFC nuclei. This is about 30% of the total known sample and is large enough for statistical rigor. The study uses data from the Spitzer Space Telescope and from ground-based facilities on Mauna Kea, La Silla, La Palma, and Palomar.The project employs undergraduates for the acquisition, reduction, and presentation of some of the datasets, providing them with a true research experience. Data from this project provide useful context for upper-level undergraduate courses on astronomical techniques. SEPPCoN is an international collaboration among researchers in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and four U.S. states.

AST-0808004/0807521/0808139Fernandez/Meech/Lowry 这些合作奖项支持为开展 SEPPCoN（彗星核整体物理特性调查）而组建的小组。 这是一个大型多波长项目，旨在了解太阳系中当前彗星群的大小、反照率、颜色、形状和自转的分布，以研究彗星自形成以来的 46 亿年来如何变化。 这很重要，因为彗星被用来探测导致太阳系形成的原行星盘的热物理条件。 尽管这是一个比本次调查所能回答的更大的问题，SEPPCoN 将解决与原子核本身构成相关的方面，包括体积强度、质量损失、碎片、反照率、颜色和轴比。 良好的理解需要观测彗星群的大量样本，该项目首先关注木星家族彗星 (JFC)，初始样本包含 100 个 JFC 核。 这大约占已知样本总数的 30%，足够大以保证统计的严谨性。 该研究使用来自斯皮策太空望远镜以及莫纳克亚山、拉西拉岛、拉帕尔马岛和帕洛马岛地面设施的数据。该项目雇用本科生来采集、缩减和展示一些数据集，为他们提供了真实的研究经历。 该项目的数据为高年级本科天文技术课程提供了有用的背景。 SEPPCoN 是法国、西班牙、英国和美国四个州的研究人员之间的国际合作项目。