With the advent of powerful space-based infrared telescope facilities,
\nwe are seeing a surge in the number of cometary nuclei whose thermal
\nemissions are being measured. This work has the potential to provide
\ninsight into the ensemble structural and thermophysical properties
\nof comets and, ultimately, the circumstances of their formation and
\nevolution. Moreover, these studies are now happening while the
\nRosetta spacecraft continues its detailed and lengthy study of comet
\n67P, giving us excellent context with which to try to understand
\nthe wealth of remote observations of other comets. This is important
\nsince for the forseeable future there will always be far more comets
\nobserved remotely than in-situ, and we must understand what such
\ndata are telling us about nuclei and near-nucleus comae so that we
\nare not fooled into misinterpretation. I will review some recent,
\nkey results on cometary physical properties and on what we might
\nthink of as a “typical” comet. I will also discuss some unanswered
\nquestions that should be addressed in the future, and what the
\nobservational limitations and opportunities are with regard to them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With the advent of powerful space-based infrared telescope facilities, we are seeing a surge in the number of cometary nuclei whose thermal emissions are being measured. This work has the potential to provide insight into the ensemble structural and thermophysical properties of comets and, ultimately, the circumstances of their formation and evolution. Moreover, these studies … <\/p>\n