DISCOVERY OF MAIN-BELT COMET P/2006 VW{sub 139} BY Pan-STARRS1
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
- Astrophysics Research Centre, Queens University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom)
- Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000 Belgrade (Serbia)
- Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, The University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NH (United Kingdom)
- Gemini Observatory, Northern Operations Center, 670 N. Aohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)
- Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, 300 Jhongda Rd, Jhongli 32001, Taiwan (China)
The main-belt asteroid (300163) 2006 VW{sub 139} (later designated P/2006 VW{sub 139}) was discovered to exhibit comet-like activity by the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) survey telescope using automated point-spread-function analyses performed by PS1's Moving Object Processing System. Deep follow-up observations show both a short ({approx}10'') antisolar dust tail and a longer ({approx}60'') dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane, similar to the morphology observed for another main-belt comet (MBC), P/2010 R2 (La Sagra), and other well-established comets, implying the action of a long-lived, sublimation-driven emission event. Photometry showing the brightness of the near-nucleus coma remaining constant over {approx}30 days provides further evidence for this object's cometary nature, suggesting it is in fact an MBC, and not a disrupted asteroid. A spectroscopic search for CN emission was unsuccessful, though we find an upper limit CN production rate of Q{sub CN} < 1.3 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 24} mol s{sup -1}, from which we infer a water production rate of Q{sub H{sub 2O}}<10{sup 26} mol s{sup -1}. We also find an approximately linear optical spectral slope of 7.2%/1000 A, similar to other cometary dust comae. Numerical simulations indicate that P/2006 VW{sub 139} is dynamically stable for >100 Myr, while a search for a potential asteroid family around the object reveals a cluster of 24 asteroids within a cutoff distance of 68 m s{sup -1}. At 70 m s{sup -1}, this cluster merges with the Themis family, suggesting that it could be similar to the Beagle family to which another MBC, 133P/Elst-Pizarro, belongs.
- OSTI ID:
- 22047949
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 748, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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