Related papers: A Targeted Search for Main Belt Comets

We use hydrodynamical/N-body simulations to interpret the newly discovered Bullet-cluster-like merging cluster, ZwCl 0008.8+5215 (ZwCl 0008 hereafter), where a dramatic collision is apparent from multi-wavelength observations. We have been…

Gaia Data Release 2 includes observational data for 14,099 pre-selected asteroids. From the sparsely sampled G band photometry, we derive lower-limit lightcurve amplitudes for 11,665 main belt asteroids in order to provide constraints on…

By means of a multimass isotropic and spherical model that includes the self-consistent treatment of a central intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH), the influence of this black hole on the morphological and physical properties of globular…

We present recent observations of main-belt comet P/2010 R2 (La Sagra) obtained using the Gemini North telescope on five nights in late 2011 and early 2013 during portions of the object's orbit when dust emission was expected to be minimal…

We measure the mid-plane of the main asteroid belt by using the observational data of a nearly complete and unbiased sample of asteroids, and find that it has inclination $\bar{I}=0.93\pm0.04$ degrees and longitude of ascending node…

We analyze a rich dataset including Subaru/SuprimeCam, HST/ACS and WFC3, Keck/DEIMOS, Chandra/ACIS-I, and JVLA/C and D array for the merging galaxy cluster ZwCl 0008.8+5215. With a joint Subaru/HST weak gravitational lensing analysis, we…

We discuss the potential of the gravitational microlensing method as a unique tool to detect unambiguous signals caused by intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters. We select clusters near the line of sight to the Galactic Bulge…

The recent detection of fast-moving stars in the core of Omega Centauri ($\omega$ Cen), the most massive globular cluster (GC) in the Milky Way, has provided strong evidence for the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). As…

1I/2017 U1 (`Oumuamua), a recently discovered asteroid in a hyperbolic orbit, is likely the first macroscopic object of extrasolar origin identified in the solar system. Here, we present imaging and spectroscopic observations of…

We report the statistical detection (at the >99% confidence level) of a population of 28th magnitude objects exhibiting proper motions of ~1 arcsecond per hour at quadrature in deep HST/WFPC2 images. The drift directions imply a…

The NASA Dawn mission has extensively examined the surface of asteroid Vesta, the second most massive body in the main belt. The high quality of the gathered data provides us with an unique opportunity to determine the surface and internal…

The interstellar comet 2I/Borisov bears a strong resemblance to Oort Cloud comets, judging from its appearance in images taken over the first six weeks of observation. To test the proposed affinity in more diagnostic terms, 2I is compared…

We investigate the physical properties of the 10 blazars at redshift greater than 2 detected in the 3-years all sky survey performed by the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) onboard the Swift satellite. We find that the jets of these blazars are…

The nearby star Fomalhaut harbours a cold, moderately eccentric dust belt with a sharp inner edge near 133 au. A low-mass, common proper motion companion (Fom b), was discovered near the inner edge and was identified as a planet candidate…

Given the current limited knowledge of meteor plasma micro-physics and its interaction with the surrounding atmosphere and ionosphere, meteors are a highly interesting observational target for high-resolution wide-field astronomical…

In the Nice model, the late heavy bombardment (LHB) is related to an orbital instability of giant planets which causes a fast dynamical dispersion of a transneptunian cometary disk. We study effects produced by these hypothetical cometary…

At wavelengths longer than 21 cm, photons from the long-wavelength tail of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) have a non-zero probability of being absorbed by distant neutral hydrogen. This provides an additional suppression of the…

This article intends to provide a concise overview, from an observational point-of-view, of the current state of our knowledge of the most relevant properties of the Milky Way's nuclear star cluster (MWNSC). The MWNSC appears to be a…

Gravitational microlensing is a powerful technique for constraining the abundance of dark matter in asteroid mass to supermassive primordial black holes at masses of $-11 \lesssim \log M/\mathrm{M}_\odot \lesssim 5$. In this work, we…

The complete sample of large-perihelion nearly-parabolic comets discovered during the period 1901-2010 is studied starting from their orbit determination. Next, an orbital evolution that includes three perihelion passages…