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Register a new userSecular and Rotational Light Curves of 6478 Gault
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We obtained 877 images of active asteroid 6478 Gault on 41 nights from January 10th to June 8th, 2019, using several telescopes. We created the phase, secular and rotational light curves of Gault, from which several physical parameters can be derived. From the phase plot we find that no phase effect was evident. This implies that an optically thick cloud of dust surrounded the nucleus hiding the surface. The secular light curve (SLC) shows several zones of activity the origin of which is speculative. From the SLC plots a robust absolute magnitude can be derived and we find mV(1,1,alpha) = 16.11+-0.05. We also found a rotational period Prot = 3.360+-0.005 h and show evidence that 6478 might be a binary. The parameters of the pair are derived. Previous works have concluded that 6478 is in a state of rotational disruption and the above rotational period supports this result. Our conclusion is that 6478 Gault is a suffocated comet getting rid of its suffocation by expelling surface dust into space using the centrifugal force. This is an evolutionary stage in the lifetime of some comets. Besides being a main belt comet (MBC) the object is classified as a dormant Methuselah Lazarus comet.
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The $sim$4 km diameter main belt asteroid 6478 Gault has ejected dust intermittently since at least 2013. The character of the emission, including its episodic nature and the low speed of the ejected particles ($V sim $ 0.15 m s$^{-1}$), is most consistent with mass loss from a body rotating near rotational breakup. Owing to dust contamination of the nucleus signal, this conclusion has not yet been confirmed. To test this idea, we have obtained new images of Gault in August 2020, in the absence of dust. Our photometry shows a lightcurve having a very small amplitude (maximum $sim 0.05$ mag) and a periodicity of $ 2.55 pm 0.10$ hours. The new observations are consistent with a model in which Gault is rotating near breakup, with centrifugal forces responsible for its episodic mass loss. Approximated as a strengthless (fluid) spherical body, the implied density is $rho$ = 1700 kg m$^{-3}$. We use the Froude number $Fr$, defined here as the ratio between centrifugal force and gravitational force, as a way to investigate mass loss regimes in fast spinning asteroids and find that mass shedding starts at $Fr sim 0.5$.
Main-belt asteroid (6478) Gault was observed to show cometary features in early 2019. To investigate the cause, we conducted {it BVR} observations at Xingming Observatory, China, from 2019 January to April. The two tails were formed around 2018 October 26--November 08, and 2018 December 29--2019 January 08, respectively, and consisted of dust grains of $gtrsim$20 $mu$m to 3 mm in radius ejected at a speed of $0.15 pm 0.05$ m s$^{-1}$ and following a broken power-law size distribution bending at grain radius $sim$70 $mu$m (bulk density 1 g cm$^{-3}$ assumed). The total mass of dust within a $10^4$ km-radius aperture around Gault declined from $sim$$9 times 10^6$ kg since 2019 January at a rate of $2.28 pm 0.07$ kg s$^{-1}$, but temporarily surged around 2019 March 25, because Earth thence crossed the orbital plane of Gault, within which the ejected dust was mainly distributed. No statistically significant colour or short-term lightcurve variation was seen. Nonetheless we argue that Gault is currently subjected to rotational instability. Using the available astrometry, we did not detect any nongravitational acceleration in the orbital motion of Gault.
We present imaging and spectroscopic observations of 6478 Gault, a 6 km diameter inner main-belt asteroid currently exhibiting strong, comet-like characteristics. Three distinct tails indicate that ultra-slow dust (ejection speed 0.15+/-0.05 m/s) was emitted from Gault in separate episodes beginning UT 2018 October 28+/-5 (Tail A), UT 2018 December 31+/-5 (Tail B), and UT 2019 February 10+/-7, with durations of 10 to 20 days. With a mean particle radius 100 micron, the estimated masses of the tails are M_A = 2e7 kg, M_B = 3e6 kg and M_C = 3e5 kg, respectively, and the mass loss rates from the nucleus are 10 to 20 kg/s for Tail A, 2 to 3 kg/s for Tail B and about 0.2 kg/s for Tail C. In its optical colors Gault is more similar to C-type asteroids than to S-types, even though the latter are numerically dominant in the inner asteroid belt. A spectroscopic upper limit to the production of gas is set at 1 kg/s. Discrete emission in three protracted episodes effectively rules out an impact origin for the observed activity. Sublimation driven activity is unlikely given the inner belt orbit and the absence of detectable gas. In any case, sublimation would not easily account for the observed multiple ejections. The closest similarity is between Gault and active asteroid 311P/(2013 P5), an object showing repeated but aperiodic ejections of dust over a 9 month period. While Gault is 10 times larger than 311P/(2013 P5), and the spin-up time to radiation torques is 100 times longer, its properties are likewise most consistent with episodic emission from a body rotating near breakup.
Main-belt asteroid (6478) Gault unexpectedly sprouted two tails in late 2018 and early 2019, identifying it as a new active asteroid. Here we present observations obtained by the 1.2-m Zwicky Transient Facility survey telescope that provide detailed time-series coverage of the onset and evolution of Gaults activity. Gault exhibited two brightening events, with the first one starting on 2018 Oct. 18$pm5$ days and a second one starting on 2018 Dec. 24$pm1$ days. The amounts of mass released are $2times10^7$ kg and $1times10^6$ kg, respectively. Based on photometric measurements, each event persisted for about a month. Gaults color has not changed appreciably over time, with a pre-outburst color of $g_mathrm{PS1}-r_mathrm{PS1}=0.50pm0.04$ and $g_mathrm{PS1}-r_mathrm{PS1}=0.46pm0.04$ during the two outbursts. Simulations of dust dynamics shows that the ejecta consists of dust grains of up to 10 $mu$m in size that are ejected at low velocities below $1~mathrm{m~s^{-1}}$ regardless of particle sizes. This is consistent with non-sublimation-driven ejection events. The size distribution of the dust exhibits a broken power-law, with particles at 10--20 $mu$m following a power-law of $-2.5$ to $-3.0$, while larger particles follow a steeper slope of $-4.0$. The derived properties can be explained by either rotational excitation of the nucleus or a merger of a near-contact binary, with the latter scenario to be statistically more likely.
Main belt asteroid (6478) Gault has been dynamically linked with two overlapping asteroid families: Phocaea, dominated by S-type asteroids, and Tamara, dominated by low-albedo C-types. This object has recently become an interesting case for study, after images obtained in late 2018 revealed that it was active and displaying a comet-like tail. Previous authors have proposed that the most likely scenarios to explain the observed activity on Gault were rotational excitation or merger of near-contact binaries. Here we use new photometric and spectroscopic data of Gault to determine its physical and compositional properties. Lightcurves derived from the photometric data showed little variation over three nights of observations, which prevented us from determining the rotation period of the asteroid. Using WISE observations of Gault and the near-Earth Asteroid Thermal Model (NEATM) we determined that this asteroid has a diameter $<$6 km. NIR spectroscopic data obtained with the Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) showed a spectrum similar to that of S-complex asteroids, and a surface composition consistent with H chondrite meteorites. These results favor a compositional affinity between Gault and asteroid (25) Phocaea, and rules out a compositional link with the Tamara family. From the spectroscopic data we found no evidence of fresh material that could have been exposed during the outburst episodes.
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