Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3: O(1D) and H2O Production Rates

In May 2006, comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 (SW3) made the closest approach (0.075 AU) to the Earth of a short period comet in more than 75 years. During the comet's 1995/1996 apparition it split into several fragments and, as of March 2006, SW3 was in eight major pieces. From May 1, 2006 through May 6, 2006 we performed a series of [OI] and NH2 (near 6300 Å) observations of the two brightest fragments, SW3-B and SW3-C, using the dual-etalon Fabry-Perot spectrometer that comprises the Wisconsin H-alpha Mapper (WHAM). At the time of our observations the Doppler shift of the comet was within a few km/s of the spectral resolving limit of WHAM (12 km/s), and great care was needed to isolate the blended cometary [OI] emission from the bright terrestrial [OI] emission line. In this poster we will discuss our analysis procedure and our preliminary total O(1D) production rates. Given the photodissociation of H2O and OH as sources of O(1D), we will also present an estimate of the H2O production rates for fragments SW3-B and SW3-C based on our WHAM O(1D) observations.