P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS): An Active Centaur in Imminent Transition to the Jupiter Family

Steckloff, Jordan K.; Sarid, Gal; Volk, Kathryn; Kareta, Theodore; Womack, Maria; Harris, Walter M.; Woodney, L. M.; Schambeau, Charles

doi:10.3847/2041-8213/abc888

Cited by 25 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The existence of active Centaurs (e.g. Jewitt 2009;Lin et al 2014;Mazzotta Epifani et al 2017Steckloff et al 2020;de la Fuente Marcos et al 2021), alongside with the recent observations of long-distant activity of comets (e.g. Meech et al 2017;Jewitt et al 2017;Hui et al 2018Hui et al , 2019Yang et al 2021;Farnham et al 2021), provide direct evidence that cometary activity starts beyond the orbit of Neptune.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…JFCs are characterized by short orbital periods ( 20 years) and low inclinations ( 30 • ) (Di Sisto et al 2009;Nesvorný et al 2017). They are thought to originate from the Kuiper Belt and Scattered Disk (Brasser & Morbidelli 2013), and evolve through the giant planet region on unstable orbits, before reaching the inner solar system after a close encounter with Jupiter (Levison & Duncan 1997;Di Sisto et al 2009;Nesvorný et al 2017;Fernández et al 2018;Steckloff et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermal processing of Jupiter Family Comets during their chaotic orbital evolution

Gkotsinas,

Guilbert-Lepoutre,

Raymond

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Evidence for cometary activity beyond Jupiter and Saturn's orbits -such as that observed for Centaurs and long period comets -suggests that the thermal processing of comet nuclei starts long before they enter the inner Solar System, where they are typically observed and monitored. Such observations raise questions as to the depth of unprocessed material, and whether the activity of JFCs can be representative of any primitive material. Here we model the coupled thermal and dynamical evolution of Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs), from the moment they leave their outer Solar System reservoirs until their ejection into interstellar space. We apply a thermal evolution model to a sample of simulated JFCs obtained from dynamical simulations (Nesvorný et al. 2017) that successfully reproduce the orbital distribution of observed JFCs. We show that due to the stochastic nature of comet trajectories toward the inner solar

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal processing of Jupiter Family Comets during their chaotic orbital evolution

Gkotsinas,

Guilbert-Lepoutre,

Raymond

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…The orbit determination used by Hsieh et al (2021) included 168 observations for a dataarc span of 741 d; therefore, it is also less precise than the orbit investigated here. Steckloff et al (2020) used the same orbit determination considered by Kareta et al (2020a) to conclude that the object will become a member of the JFC dynamical group after 2063. Figure 6 shows the evolution of representative control orbits with Cartesian vectors separated ±3σ and ±9σ from the nominal values in Table 4.…”

Section: Current Dynamical Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The activity of the Jupiter co-orbital comet P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) observed with the 10.4m GTC.

Licandro¹,

León²,

Moreno

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Context. The existence of comets with heliocentric orbital periods close to that of Jupiter (i.e., co-orbitals) has been known for some time. Comet 295P/LINEAR (2002 AR 2 ) is a well-known quasi-satellite of Jupiter. However, their orbits are not long-term stable, and they may eventually experience flybys with Jupiter at very close range, close enough to trigger tidal disruptions like the one suffered by comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 in 1992. Aims. Our aim was to study the observed activity and the dynamical evolution of the Jupiter transient co-orbital comet P/2019 LD 2 (ATLAS) and its dynamical evolution. Methods. We present results of an observational study of P/2019 LD 2 carried out with the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) that includes image analyses using a Monte Carlo dust tail fitting code to characterize its level of cometary activity, and spectroscopic studies to search for gas emission. We also present N-body simulations to explore its past, present, and future orbital evolution. Results. Images of P/2019 LD 2 obtained on 2020 May 16, show a conspicuous coma and tail, but the spectrum obtained on 2020 May 17, does not exhibit any evidence of CN, C 2 , or C 3 emission. The comet brightness in a 2.6 aperture diameter is r = 19.34±0.02 mag, with colors (g − r ) = 0.78 ± 0.03, (r − i ) = 0.31 ± 0.03, and (i − z ) = 0.26 ± 0.03. The temporal dependence of the dust loss rate of P/2019 LD 2 can be parameterized by a Gaussian function having a full width at half maximum of 350 days, with a maximum dust mass loss rate of 60 kg s −1 reached on 2019 August 15. The total dust loss rate from the beginning of activity until the GTC observation date (2020 May 16) is estimated at 1.9×10 9 kg. Comet P/2019 LD 2 is now an ephemeral co-orbital of Jupiter, following what looks like a short arc of a quasi-satellite cycle that started in 2017 and will end in 2028. On 2063 January 23, it will experience a very close encounter with Jupiter at perhaps 0.016 au; its probability of escaping the solar system during the next 0.5 Myr is estimated to be 0.53±0.03. Conclusions. Photometry and tail model results show that P/2019 LD 2 is a kilometer-sized object, in the size range of the Jupiterfamily comets, with a typical comet-like activity most likely linked to sublimation of crystalline water ice and clathrates. Its origin is still an open question. Our numerical studies give a probability of this comet having been captured from interstellar space during the last 0.5 Myr of 0.49±0.02 (average and standard deviation), 0.67±0.06 during the last 1 Myr, 0.83±0.06 over 3 Myr, and 0.91±0.09 during the last 5 Myr.

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“…Jupiter-family comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková (45P hereafter) passed within 0.14 au of Earth between 2016 and 2017, providing excellent circumstances for observing its inner coma with ground-based telescopes. Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) have orbital periods less than 20 yr; they originate as trans-Neptunian objects that evolve into Centaurs and eventually migrate into the inner solar system (Duncan & Levison 1997;Tiscareno & Malhotra 2003;Di Sisto & Brunini 2007;Duncan et al 2004;Dones et al 2015;Sarid et al 2019;Steckloff et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeating Gas Ejection Events from Comet 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková

Springmann¹,

Harris²,

Ryan³

et al. 2022

Planet. Sci. J.

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Studying materials released from Jupiter-family comets (JFCs)—as seen in their inner comae, the envelope of gas and dust that forms as the comet approaches the Sun—improves the understanding of their origin and evolutionary history. As part of a coordinated, multiwavelength observing campaign, we observed comet 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková during its close approach to Earth in 2017 February. Narrowband observations were taken using the Bok 90″ telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory on February 16 and 17 UT, revealing gas and dust structures. We observed different jet directions for different volatile species, implying source region heterogeneity, consistent with other ground-based and in situ observations of other comet nuclei. A repeating feature visible in CN and C2 images on February 16 was also observed on February 17 with an interval of 7.6 ± 0.1 hr, consistent with the rotation period of the comet derived from Arecibo Observatory radar observations. The repeating feature’s projected gas velocity away from the nucleus is 0.8 km s−1, with an outflow velocity of 0.5 km s−1. A bright compact spot adjacent to the nucleus provides a lower limit of the amount of material released in one cycle of ∼9.2 kg, depending on composition—a quantity small enough to be produced by repeated exposure of nucleus ices to sunlight. This repeating CN jet, forming within 400 km of the nucleus, may be typical of inner-coma behavior in JFCs; however, similar features could be obscured by other processes and daughter product species when viewed from distances further than the scale length of CN molecules.

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P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS): An Active Centaur in Imminent Transition to the Jupiter Family

Cited by 25 publications

References 40 publications

Thermal processing of Jupiter Family Comets during their chaotic orbital evolution

Thermal processing of Jupiter Family Comets during their chaotic orbital evolution

The activity of the Jupiter co-orbital comet P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) observed with the 10.4m GTC.

Repeating Gas Ejection Events from Comet 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková

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