Photometric and spectroscopic analysis of Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 activity

We carried out photometric and spectroscopic observations of comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 at the 6-m BTA telescope (SAO RAS, Russia) and the 1.6-m telescope of the National Laboratory for Astrophysics (LNA, Brazil) on February 20, 2012, and on May 31, 2011, respectively. The spectra revealed the presence of CO+ and N-2(+) emissions in the cometary coma at a distance of 5.25 AU from the Sun. The ratio [N-2(+)]/[CO+] within the projected slit is 0.013. The images obtained through BVR filters showed a bright, dust coma, indicating a high level of activity. We estimated a colour index and a colour excess for the comet. The parameter Af rho, which is used as an indicator of a cometary activity, was measured to be 2584 +/- 50 cm in the reference optical aperture of rho = 10(4) km. The dust production constituted 33 kg/s and 9.3.10(3) kg/s, it was obtained using different methods. We also investigated the morphology of the comet using image enhancement techniques and found two jets in the coma. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.