Open AccessCan ice survive in main‐belt comets? Long‐term evolution models of comet 133P/Elst‐Pizarro
Author(s) -
Prialnik Dina,
Rosenberg Eric D.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society: letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.067
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1745-3933
pISSN - 1745-3925
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2009.00727.x
Subject(s) - term (time) , astrobiology , comet , astronomy , physics
We present detailed evolutionary calculations spanning 4.6 × 10 9 yr for a model representing main‐belt comet 133P/Elst‐Pizarro, considering different initial compositions: mixtures of ices and dust. We find that only crystalline H 2 O ice may survive in the interior of the nucleus, and may be found at depths ranging from ∼50 to 150 m. Other volatiles will be completely lost. We further show, by means of fully three‐dimensional evolutionary calculations, that if the ice is exposed, say as a result of a collision, the resulting activity is similar to the observed pattern of the behaviour of the comet for a large spin axis inclination, even if only a patch of ice is exposed.