Abstract:
Spectrophotometric observations of the comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT)
were taken on three nights of May 13, 18 and 19, 2004 near its perihelion
distance using 104-cm telescope of ARIES, Nainital. The Cassegrain HR- 320
spectrograph with 1K × 1K CCD camera gives a visible spectral coverage of
3500-7000 Å. The prominent emission bands CN (3888 Å) and C₂ (4695, 5165 and 5538 Å)
were identified. An estimate of the CN and C₂ abundances and the production
rates for these molecules and dust at those heliocentric distances were determined.
