OBSERVATIONAL AND DYNAMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MAIN-BELT COMET P/2010 R2 (La Sagra)

We present observations of the recently discovered comet-like main-belt object P/2010 R2 (La Sagra) obtained by Pan-STARRS1 and the Faulkes Telescope-North on Haleakala in Hawaii, the University of Hawaii 2.2m, Gemini-North, and Keck I telescopes on Mauna Kea, the Danish 1.54 m telescope at La Silla...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astronomical journal 2012-05, Vol.143 (5), p.1-16
Main Authors: Hsieh, Henry H, Yang, Bin, HAGHIGHIPOUR, NADER, Novakovic, Bojan, JEDICKE, ROBERT, Wainscoat, Richard J, DENNEAU, LARRY, Abe, Shinsuke, Chen, Wen-Ping, Fitzsimmons, Alan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ALBEDO
Alignment
APPROXIMATIONS
ASTEROIDS
Astronomical bodies
Astronomical instruments
ASTROPHYSICS
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BRIGHTNESS
CARBON NITRIDES
COMETS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COSMIC DUST
Dust
EMISSION
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
JUPITER PLANET
Orbits
Planes
RESONANCE
SATURN PLANET
SUBLIMATION
SURFACE AREA
TELESCOPES
THREE-BODY PROBLEM
WATER
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Summary:We present observations of the recently discovered comet-like main-belt object P/2010 R2 (La Sagra) obtained by Pan-STARRS1 and the Faulkes Telescope-North on Haleakala in Hawaii, the University of Hawaii 2.2m, Gemini-North, and Keck I telescopes on Mauna Kea, the Danish 1.54 m telescope at La Silla, and the Isaac Newton Telescope on La Palma. An anti-solar dust tail is observed to be present from 2010 August through 2011 February, while a dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane is also observed from 2010 December through 2011 August. The results strongly suggest that the observed activity is cometary in nature (i.e., driven by the sublimation of volatile material), and that P/La Sagra is therefore the most recent main-belt comet to be discovered.
ISSN:0004-6256
1538-3881
1538-3881
DOI:10.1088/0004-6256/143/5/104