Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 April 2016
The infrared spectral region (1–1000 μm) is important for studies of both molecules and solid grains in comets. Infrared astronomy is in the midst of a technological revolution, with the development of sensitive 2–dimensional arrays leading to infrared cameras and spectrometers with vastly improved sensitivity and resolution. The Halley campaign gave us tantalizing first glimpses of the comet science possible with this new technology, evidenced, for example, by the many new spectral features detected in the infrared. The techniques of photometry, imaging, and spectroscopy are reviewed in this chapter and their status at the time of the Halley observations is described.