Related papers: Main-Belt Comet P/2008 R1 (Garradd)

Splitting of the nuclei of comets into multiple components has been frequently observed but, to date, no main-belt asteroid has been observed to break-up. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, we find that main-belt asteroid P/2013 R3 consists…

Main Belt comets represent a recently discovered class of objects. They are quite intriguing because, while having a Tisserand invariant value higher than 3, are showing cometary activity. We study the activity of the Main Belt comets…

In this work we characterize the recently discovered active main belt object P/2012 F5 (Gibbs), which was discovered with a dust trail > 7' in length in the outer main belt, 7 months prior to aphelion. We use optical imaging obtained on UT…

We quantified ten parent volatiles in comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd) before perihelion, through high-dispersion infrared spectra acquired with CRIRES at ESO's VLT on UT 2011 August 07 (Rh = 2.4 AU) and September 17-21 (Rh = 2.0 AU). On August…

We present the optical imaging polarimetric observations of comet C/2009 P1(Garradd) at three different phase angles e.g., 28.2$^\circ$, 28.1$^\circ$ and 21.6$^\circ$. The observations were carried out using IUCAA Faint Object Spectrograph…

We present observations using the Baade Magellan and Canada-France-Hawaii telescopes showing that main-belt comet 324P/La Sagra, formerly known as P/2010 R2, has become active again for the first time since originally observed to be active…

We present the results of "snapshot" numerical integrations of test particles representing comet-like and asteroid-like objects in the inner solar system aimed at investigating the short-term dynamical evolution of objects close to the…

We present a physical characterization of main-belt comet 176P/LINEAR. Observations show the object exhibiting a fan-shaped tail in late 2005, but then becoming inactive in early 2006. Using data from 2007 when the object was observed to be…

In this paper we apply different methods to examine the possibility that a small group of 24 asteroids dynamically linked to main-belt comet P/2006 VW139, recently discovered by the Pan-STARRS1 survey telescope, shares a common physical…

We present analysis of high spectral resolution NIR spectra of CO and H$_2$O in comet C/2009 P1 (Garradd) taken during its 2011-2012 apparition with the CSHELL instrument on NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). We also present…

We present the determination of the geometric R-band albedos of two main-belt comet nuclei based on data from the Spitzer Space Telescope and a number of ground-based optical facilities. For 133P/Elst-Pizarro, we find an albedo of…

Active asteroids show (typically transient) cometary activity, driven by a range of processes. A sub-set, sometimes called main-belt comets, may be driven by sublimation and so could be useful for tracing the present-day distribution of…

While having a comet-like appearance, P/2012 F5 (Gibbs) has an orbit native to the Main Asteroid Belt, and physically is a km-sized asteroid which recently (mid 2011) experienced an impulsive mass ejection event. Here we report new…

We analyze 760475 observations of 333026 main-belt objects obtained by the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) survey telescope between 2012 May 20 and 2013 November 9, a period during which PS1 discovered two main-belt comets, P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS) and…

We present our results for comet (ISON). Our results were obtained with amateur telescopes observing from the ground, before and after the comet had passed conjunction with the Sun in August 2013. We measured a mean radius of 830 +- 245 m,…

Main Belt Comets are a recently identified population of minor bodies with stable asteroid-like orbits but cometary appearances. Sublimation of water ice is the most likely mechanism for their recurrent activity (i.e. dust tails and dust…

The spectra and images obtained through broadband BVR filters for Jupiter famaly comet P/2011 P1 were analyzed. We observed the comet on November 24, 2011, when its heliocentric distance was 5.43 AU. Two dimensional long slit spectra and…

P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) is an outer solar system comet or active Centaur with a similar orbit to that of the famous 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1. P/2011 S1 (Gibbs) has been observed by the Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) sky survey from 2010 to 2012. The…

We present an observational and dynamical study of newly discovered main-belt comet 313P/Gibbs. We find that the object is clearly active both in observations obtained in 2014 and in precovery observations obtained in 2003 by the Sloan…

Images and low-resolution spectra of the near-Earth Jupiter family comet (JFC) 249P/LINEAR in the visible range obtained with the instrument OSIRIS in the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias on January 3, 4, 6 and February 6, 2016 are presented,…