Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userPan-STARRS 1 observations of the unusual active Centaur P/2011 S1(Gibbs)
123
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) is an outer solar system comet or active Centaur with a similar orbit to that of the famous 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) has been observed by the Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) sky survey from 2010 to 2012. The resulting data allow us to perform multi-color studies of the nucleus and coma of the comet. Analysis of PS1 images reveals that P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) has a small nucleus $< 4$ km radius, with colors $g_{P1}-r_{P1} = 0.5 pm 0.02$, $r_{P1}-i_{P1} = 0.12 pm 0.02$ and $i_{P1}-z_{P1} = 0.46 pm 0.03$. The comet remained active from 2010 to 2012, with a model-dependent mass-loss rate of $sim100$ kg s$^{-1}$. The mass-loss rate per unit surface area of P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) is as high as that of 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, making it one of the most active Centaurs. The mass-loss rate also varies with time from $sim 40$ kg s$^{-1}$ to 150 kg s$^{-1}$. Due to its rather circular orbit, we propose that P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) has 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1-like outbursts that control the outgassing rate. The results indicate that it may have a similar surface composition to that of 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. Our numerical simulations show that the future orbital evolution of P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) is more similar to that of the main population of Centaurs than to that of 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. The results also demonstrate that P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) is dynamically unstable and can only remain near its current orbit for roughly a thousand years.
rate research
Read More
Dynamically new comet C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) is one of the brightest comets since the great comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp). Here, we present our multi-wavelength observations of C/2011 L4 during its in-bound passage to the inner Solar system. A strong absorption band of water ice at 2.0 $mu$m was detected in the near infrared spectra, taken with the 8-m Gemini-North and 3-m IRTF telescopes. The companion 1.5 $mu$m band of water ice, however, was not observed. Spectral modeling show that the absence of the 1.5 $mu$m feature can be explained by the presence of sub-micron-sized fine ice grains. No gas lines (i.e. CN, HCN or CO) were observed pre-perihelion either in the optical or in the sub-millimeter. 3-$sigma$ upper limits to the CN and CO production rates were derived. The comet exhibited a very strong continuum in the optical and its slope seemed to become redder as the comet approached the Sun. Our observations suggest that C/2011 L4 is an unusually dust-rich comet with a dust-to-gas mass ratio $>$ 4.
The dust emission from active asteroids is likely driven by collisions, fast rotation, sublimation of embedded ice, and combinations of these. Characterising these processes leads to a better understanding of their respective influence on the evolution of the asteroid population. We study the role of fast rotation in the active asteroid 358P (P 2012/T1). We obtained two nights of deep imaging of 358P with SOAR/Goodman and VLT/FORS2. We derived the rotational light curve from time-resolved photometry and searched for large fragments and debris > 8 mm in a stacked, ultra-deep image. The nucleus has an absolute magnitude of m_R=19.68, corresponding to a diameter of 530 m for standard assumptions on the albedo and phase function of a C-type asteroid. We do not detect fragments or debris that would require fast rotation to reduce surface gravity to facilitate their escape. The 10-hour light curve does not show an unambiguous periodicity.
Using the first 18 months of the Pan-STARRS 1 survey we have identified 33 candidate high-amplitude objects for follow-up observations and carried out observations of 22 asteroids. 4 of the observed objects were found to have observed amplitude $A_{obs}geq 1.0$ mag. We find that these high amplitude objects are most simply explained by single rubble pile objects with some density-dependent internal strength, allowing them to resist mass shedding even at their highly elongated shapes. 3 further objects although below the cut-off for high-amplitude had a combination of elongation and rotation period which also may require internal cohesive strength, depending on the density of the body. We find that none of the high-amplitude asteroids identified here require any unusual cohesive strengths to resist rotational fission. 3 asteroids were sufficiently observed to allow for shape and spin pole models to be determined through light curve inversion. 45864 was determined to have retrograde rotation with spin pole axes $lambda=218pm 10^{circ}, beta=-82pm 5^{circ}$ and asteroid 206167 was found to have best fit spin pole axes $lambda= 57 pm 5^{circ}$, $beta=-67 pm 5^{circ}$. An additional object not initially measured with $A_{obs}>1.0$ mag, 49257, was determined to have a shape model which does suggest a high-amplitude object. Its spin pole axes were best fit for values $lambda=112pm 6^{circ}, beta=6pm 5^{circ}$. In the course of this project to date no large super-fast rotators ($P_{rot} < 2.2$ h) have been identified.
In this work we report the detection of seven Neptune Trojans (NTs) in the Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) survey. Five of these are new discoveries, consisting of four L4 Trojans and one L5 Trojan. Our orbital simulations show that the L5 Trojan stably librates for only several million years. This suggests that the L5 Trojan must be of recent capture origin. On the other hand, all four new L4 Trojans stably occupy the 1:1 resonance with Neptune for more than 1 Gyr. They can, therefore, be of primordial origin. Our survey simulation results show that the inclination width of the Neptune Trojan population should be between $7^{circ}$ and $27^{circ}$ at $>$ 95% confidence, and most likely $sim 11^{circ}$. In this paper, we describe the PS1 survey, the Outer Solar System pipeline, the confirming observations, and the orbital/physical properties of the new Neptune Trojans.
Gateway Centaur and Jupiter co-orbital P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) (Sarid et al. 2019) provides the first opportunity to observe the migration of a Solar System small body from a Centaur orbit to a Jupiter Family Comet (JFC) four decades from now (Kareta et al., 2020; Hsieh et al. 2020). The Gateway transition region is beyond where water ice can power cometary activity, and coma production there is as poorly understood as in all Centaurs. We present contemporaneous multi-wavelength observations of LD2 from 2020 July 2-4: Gemini-North visible imaging, NASA IRTF near-infrared spectroscopy, and ARO SMT millimeter-wavelength spectroscopy. Precovery DECam images limit the nucleus effective radius to <=1.2 km and no large outbursts were seen in archival Catalina Sky Survey observations. LD2s coma has g-r=0.70+/-0.07, r-i=0.26+/-0.07, a dust production rate of ~10-20 kg/s, and an outflow velocity between v~0.6-3.3 m/s. We did not detect CO towards LD2 on 2020 July 2-3, with a 3-sigma upper limit of Q(CO) < 4.4 * 10^27 mol/s (<200 kg/s). Near-infrared spectra show evidence for water ice at the 1-10% level depending on grain size. Spatial profiles and archival data are consistent with sustained activity. The evidence supports the hypothesis that LD2 is a typical small Centaur that will become a typical JFC, and thus it is critical to understanding the transition between these two populations. Finally, we discuss potential strategies for a community-wide, long baseline monitoring effort.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
