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    since 2/9/1997

    Last Updated June 1997

    Submillimeter
    Comet Home Page


    This page is dedicated to observations of comets at submillimeter wavelengths. These wavelengths convey special information about comets, by revealing molecular transitions of parent molecules and by allowing the direct study of thermal emission from large dust particles and (sometimes) the cometary nucleus.

    The Earth's atmosphere blocks much of the submillimeter wavelength range, requiring that submillimeter telescopes be located at dry, high altitude sites. The leading submillimeter telescope is the 15 m diameter James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) at 4km altitude on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The observations on this page are exclusively from the JCMT.