A novel mechanism for outbursts of Comet 17P/Holmes and other short-period comets
| dc.creator | Miles, Richard | |
| dc.date | 2007-12-20 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T08:50:31Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T08:50:31Z | |
| dc.description | A mechanism is proposed to explain the outburst of comet 17P/Holmes based on; (a) oxidation of water within the porous surface of the comet nucleus to form hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) through exposure to UV radiation, to energetic solar-wind particles and to cosmic radiation, (b) concentration of the H2O2 component through solid-, liquid- and gas-phase processes involving sublimation, evaporation, fractional crystallization, diffusion, supercooling, capillary wetting and migration in voids within the nucleus, and (c) rapid exothermic decomposition of aqueous H2O2 liberating oxygen gas via a surface catalytic reaction through interaction with finely-dispersed transition metals, metal compounds and minerals, in particular those containing Fe, localised within a differentiated multi-component comet nucleus. An accelerated release of gaseous oxygen, concomitant self-heating and volatilisation of hydrocarbons within the nucleus results in its explosive disruption. This mechanism may also explain the observation of a repeat outburst of this comet in 1893. Laboratory studies to investigate H2O2 formation in simulated cometary environments and to evaluate H2O2 decomposition on meteoritic samples are recommended. | |
| dc.description | 11 pages, 1 figure, revised version submitted to MNRAS | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/0712.3314 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/0712.3314 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/144627 | |
| dc.subject | Astrophysics | |
| dc.title | A novel mechanism for outbursts of Comet 17P/Holmes and other short-period comets | |
| dc.type | text |