Letter to the Editor

Near-infrared spectroscopy of the nucleus of comet 124P/Mrkos

¹ Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes & Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, PO Box 321, 38700, S/C de La Palma, Tenerife, Spain
² Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando FL, USA
³ Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, USA
⁴ Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC, Camino Bajo de Huétor 24, 18008 Granada, Spain

Corresponding author: J. Licandro, licandro@ing.iac.es

Received: 26 November 2002
Accepted: 27 December 2002

Abstract

We report near-infrared (0.9–2.3 μm) spectral observations of the bare nucleus of comet 124P/Mrkos taken on two different nights using the Near Infrared Camera Spectrometer (NICS) attached to the 3.56 m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG). Both spectra are very similar, featureless and slightly redder than the Sun, resembling the spectrum of a D type asteroid. The spectrum and the low activity level of the nucleus of 124P suggest that it is covered by a large insulating dust mantle.