Pre-perihelion observations of comet C/2017 K2 show increasing CH3OH line intensities with decreasing heliocentric distance, non-LTE dominated excitation, Tgas >100 K, and CH3OH/H2O ratio of 0.01-0.04.
Comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS): dynamically old or new?
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abstract
At discovery time, C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS) was the second most distant inbound active comet ever observed. It has been argued that this object is in the process of crossing the inner Solar System for the first time, but other authors have concluded that it is dynamically old. We have performed full N-body simulations for 3 Myr into the past using the latest public orbit determination for this object and most of them, 67%, are consistent with a bound and dynamically old Oort cloud comet, but about 29% of the studied orbits are compatible with an interstellar origin. Our independent calculations strongly suggest that C/2017 K2 is not a dynamically new Oort cloud comet.
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Single-dish observations and non-LTE analysis of CH3OH, HCN, and CO line emission in the Oort cloud comet C/2017 K2 (PANSTARRS)
Pre-perihelion observations of comet C/2017 K2 show increasing CH3OH line intensities with decreasing heliocentric distance, non-LTE dominated excitation, Tgas >100 K, and CH3OH/H2O ratio of 0.01-0.04.