THE SEARCH FOR THE DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR BANDS AND OTHER MOLECULES IN COMETS 17P (HOLMES) AND C/2007 W1 (BOATTINI)

We present the search for both diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) and molecules in Comet 17P (Holmes) and Comet C/2007 W1 (Boattini) occultation observations. Absorption spectra were taken during stellar occultations by Comet Holmes of 31 and β Persei, and the occultation of BD+22 216 by Comet Boattini. While no signature of the comets was detected, we present upper limits for some common cometary molecules such as C2, C3, CH, CN and for the most common DIBs. We did not detect either comet in absorption, most likely because of the large distance between the line of sight to the star and the nucleus of the comet. Interstellar sight lines with comparable reddening to what was measured in Comet Holmes have DIB equivalent widths between 5 and 50 mÅ. However, future observations with closer approaches to a background star have great potential for spatially mapping molecule distributions in comets, and in discovering DIBs, if they are present, in comets. Future observations could detect DIBs and molecules if they are done: (1) less than ∼104–103 km from the nucleus (2) with a signal to noise in the background star of ∼300 and (3) with a resolving power of at least 38,000.