Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT We observed the new long-period comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos), inbound at 7 au from the Sun, using the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) integral field unit on JWST. The spectrum shows absorption features due to water ice in the coma and evidence for CO$_2$ driven activity, with a production rate of $Q(\mathrm{ CO}_2) = 2.546 \pm 0.019 \times 10^{25}$ molecules s$^{-1}$, and no emission features of water or CO. The latter is surprising, given that CO is more volatile than CO$_2$, and suggests that this comet may have lost its near-surface CO during its early evolution, before implantation in the Oort cloud.
Institutions: Royal Observatory, University of Edinburgh, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, University of Maryland, College Park, Lyon 1 Université, École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon : Terre, Planètes et Environnement, United States Naval Academy, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Astronomy and National Astronomical Observatory, International Space Science Institute, University of Liège, Astronomical Observatory of Rome, National Institute for Astrophysics, Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, European Space Agency, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Language: English
Topic: Astro and Planetary Science
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $1,451
Funders: Centre national d'études spatiales, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, California Institute of Technology, UK Space Agency, Space Telescope Science Institute, Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Bulgarian National Science Fund, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
OpenAlex ID: W4410216337