Stratospheric balloon observations of comets C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring), C/2014 E2 (Jacques), and Ceres

The Balloon Observation Platform for Planetary Science (BOPPS) observed Oort Cloud comets from a stratospheric balloon observatory using a 0.8 m aperture telescope. Here, we present BOPPS observations of two comets, C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) and C/2014 E2 (Jacques), and Ceres at 2.7 microns to characterize the nature of hydrated materials. We discovered a superheat dust population at Comet Jacques which produces a bright IR continuum without evidence for line emission. Combining BOPPS observations with that from NASA's InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF) for the same night, we find no evidence for strong water vapor emission near 2.7 microns for Ceres.