Understanding Cometary Atmospheres

Understanding the chemical and physical properties of cometary atmospheres is crucial to understanding comets as a whole. However, many properties of cometary atmospheres are still not understood. This is further compounded by the lack of models incorporating information gathered from comet flyby missions. I will discuss my recent and ongoing work to examine the potential impact of gas dynamics, photochemistry, and chemical reactions on the chemical profiles of cometary atmospheres, including an attempt to model chemical profiles in the atmosphere surrounding a non-spherical nucleus. The results have implications for measuring chemical abundances in comets, and in turn, measuring chemical abundances in the outer Solar System and placing constraints on scenarios of Solar System formation.

Dr. Donna Pierce

Mississippi State University