Thu Jul 21 04:54:32 1994

CO in Fireball ?

We observed the fireball from the impact of Fragment R, using the Steward Observatory 90-Inch. The fireball became visible at about 05:42 UT, July 21 and persisted for about 6 minutes. A spectrum was obtained over the range 2.29 to 2.355 microns, with spectral resolution of 3500. The spectrum shows a complex molecular band which we identify as CO emission, redshifted by the expansion of the fireball.

Milagros Ruiz, George and Marcia Rieke, Dennis Means