Forms and Rotational States of the Nuclei of Ecliptic Comets

Abstract

In this thesis I present measurements of the physical properties of the nuclei of Jupiter Family comets (JFCs), based on time-series observations. From the time-series photometry rotation rates and elongations were measured, and from these constraints were placed on the bulk density and porosity of nuclei. Multi-filter imaging was performed to enable measurement of their surface colours. In addition, a large amount of `snap-shot' imaging was performed during the observing runs, and taken with the time-series data is used to measure nuclei sizes. These results are compared with other data from the literature to study the general properties of JFC nuclei. (Abridged)