Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: 7P/Pons-Winnecke is a near-Earth short-period comet of a moderate activity level. In this paper, we present the analysis of observations performed during a favorable apparition of the comet in 2021, indicating its status as a transitional ageing comet. The sublimation starts close to the Sun, at a distance of 1.76 ± 0.1 AU, and continues for 13 months. The dust production rate of the comet is not high even at perihelion (< 150 kg/s), and the 1.4 % active portion of the nucleus area is sufficient to provide this mass loss. The photometric age of the comet is 54.4 comet years; being combined with a light curve amplitude of 5.5m, this age corresponds to the state of a transitional middle-aged comet.
Author: S. V. Nazarov
Institution: Crimean Astrophysical Observatory
Language: English
Topic: Astro and Planetary Science
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4412585165