A high-Resolution Catalog of Cometary Emission Lines

Abstract

Using high-resolution spectra obtained with the Hamilton echelle spectrograph at Lick Observatory, we have constructed a catalog of emission lines observed in comets Swift-Tuttle and Brorsen-Metcalf. The spectra cover the range between 3800 Å and 9900 Å with a spectral resolution of λ/Δλ∼42000. In the spectra, we catalog 2997 emission lines of which we identify 2438. We find cometary lines due to H, O, C<SUB>2</SUB>, CN, NH<SUB>2</SUB>, C<SUB>3</SUB>, H<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUP>+</SUP>, CH, and CH<SUP>+</SUP>. We list 559 unidentified lines compiled from the two spectra and comment on possibilities for their origins.