INTERPRETATION OF (596) SCHEILA'S TRIPLE DUST TAILS

Journal Article · Tue Nov 15 00:00:00 EST 2011 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/741/1/L24· OSTI ID:22047382

Ishiguro, Masateru ^[1]; Hanayama, Hidekazu; Watanabe, Jun-ichi; Miyaji, Takeshi; Fukushima, Hideo ^[2]; Hasegawa, Sunao; Sarugaku, Yuki ^[3]; Fujiwara, Hideaki; Terada, Hiroshi ^[4]; Hsieh, Henry H ^[5]; Vaubaillon, Jeremie J ^[6]; Kawai, Nobuyuki ^[7]; Yanagisawa, Kenshi; Kuroda, Daisuke ^[8]; Ohta, Kouji ^[9]; Hamanowa, Hiromi ^[10]; Kim, Junhan ^[11]; Pyo, Jeonghyun ^[12]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Gwanak, Seoul 151-742 (Korea, Republic of)
2. Ishigakijima Astronomical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Ishigaki, Okinawa 907-0024 (Japan)
3. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), JAXA, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210 (Japan)
4. Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)
5. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
6. Observatoire de Paris, I.M.C.C.E., Denfert Rochereau, Bat. A., FR-75014 Paris (France)
7. Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Meguro, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan)
8. Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Asaguchi, Okayama 719-0232 (Japan)
9. Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan)
10. Hamanowa Astronomical Observatory, Motomiya, Fukushima 969-1204 (Japan)
11. Yangcheon-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
12. Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of)

Strange-looking dust cloud around asteroid (596) Scheila was discovered on 2010 December 11.44-11.47. Unlike normal cometary tails, it consisted of three tails and faded within two months. We constructed a model to reproduce the morphology of the dust cloud based on the laboratory measurement of high-velocity impacts and the dust dynamics. As a result, we succeeded in reproducing the peculiar dust cloud by an impact-driven ejecta plume consisting of an impact cone and downrange plume. Assuming an impact angle of 45 Degree-Sign , our model suggests that a decameter-sized asteroid collided with (596) Scheila from the direction of ({alpha}{sub im}, {delta}{sub im}) = (60 Degree-Sign , -40 Degree-Sign ) in J2000 coordinates on 2010 December 3. The maximum ejection velocity of the dust particles exceeded 100 m s{sup -1}. Our results suggest that the surface of (596) Scheila consists of materials with low tensile strength.

• OSTI ID: 22047382
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 741, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ASTEROIDS
ASTROPHYSICS
COMETS
COORDINATES
COSMIC DUST
MORPHOLOGY
PARTICLES
PLANETS
SURFACES
TENSILE PROPERTIES
VELOCITY