Postperihelion Cometary Activity on the Outer Main-belt Asteroid 2005 XR132
We report comet-like activity on the outer main-belt asteroid 2005 XR _132 discovered by the Lulin One-meter Telescope in early 2021 April. A series of follow-up observations were triggered to characterize the morphology and brightness variation of 2005 XR _132 . Long-term photometric data of the 20...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad226b |
| _version_ | 1797244371947487232 |
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| author | Yu-Chi Cheng Bryce T. Bolin Michael S. P. Kelley D. Bodewits Quanzhi Ye Christoffer Fremling Zhong-Yi Lin Ya-Lin Wu Reed L. Riddle Wing-Huen Ip Steven L. Groom Russ R. Laher |
| author_facet | Yu-Chi Cheng Bryce T. Bolin Michael S. P. Kelley D. Bodewits Quanzhi Ye Christoffer Fremling Zhong-Yi Lin Ya-Lin Wu Reed L. Riddle Wing-Huen Ip Steven L. Groom Russ R. Laher |
| author_sort | Yu-Chi Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We report comet-like activity on the outer main-belt asteroid 2005 XR _132 discovered by the Lulin One-meter Telescope in early 2021 April. A series of follow-up observations were triggered to characterize the morphology and brightness variation of 2005 XR _132 . Long-term photometric data of the 2020 perihelion return reveal a 2 mag fading in 120 days, starting 20 days postperihelion, attributed to decreased cometary activity. Even though no variation indicative of the rotational period can be found in our data, we infer an a / b axial ratio of 1.32, given that the lower limit of rotational amplitude is 0.3 mag. A visible spectrum and broadband color support that 2005 XR _132 has a reflectance feature similar to a BR-type Centaur object. The syndyne and synchrone simulations reveal a low-speed dust ejecta consisting of millimeter-sized dust grains released shortly after the perihelion passage. We demonstrate that 2005 XR _132 has a short dynamical lifetime of 0.12 Myr, with <5% of it in the near-Earth space. Due to the strong gravitational influence from Jupiter and Saturn, the asteroid has followed a random walk orbital migrating process. We also find that since 1550 CE, the perihelion distance of 2005 XR _132 has gradually decreased from 2.8 to 2.0 au, likely due to the Kozai–Lidov effect, which potentially reactivated the dormant nucleus. All these dynamical properties support a cometary origin for 2005 XR _132 rather than an ice-rich main-belt object kicked out from a stable orbit, although current observational evidence has yet to confirm repeating cometary activities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:09:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c7add3e0fc514c64b82b7de47ef72366 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T19:09:57Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-c7add3e0fc514c64b82b7de47ef723662024-03-26T12:12:18ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382024-01-01537810.3847/PSJ/ad226bPostperihelion Cometary Activity on the Outer Main-belt Asteroid 2005 XR132Yu-Chi Cheng0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9686-5874Bryce T. Bolin1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4950-6323Michael S. P. Kelley2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6702-7676D. Bodewits3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2668-7248Quanzhi Ye4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4838-7676Christoffer Fremling5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4223-103XZhong-Yi Lin6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3827-8991Ya-Lin Wu7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4392-1446Reed L. Riddle8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0387-370XWing-Huen Ip9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3140-5014Steven L. Groom10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5668-3507Russ R. Laher11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2451-5482Department of Physics, National Taiwan Normal University , No. 88, Sect. 4, Tingzhou Road, Wenshan Dist., Taipei City, 116325 Taiwan ; yuchi.cheng@gapps.ntnu.edu.tw; Center of Astronomy and Gravitation, National Taiwan Normal University , No. 88, Sect. 4, Tingzhou Road, Wenshan Dist., Taipei City, 116325 TaiwanGoddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742-0001, USADepartment of Physics, Auburn University , Edmund C. Leach Science Center, Auburn, AL 36849, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Maryland , College Park, MD 20742, USA; Center for Space Physics, Boston University , 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USACaltech Optical Observatories, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAInstitute of Astronomy, National Central University , No. 300, Zhongda Road, Zhongli Dist., Taoyuan City, 320317 TaiwanDepartment of Physics, National Taiwan Normal University , No. 88, Sect. 4, Tingzhou Road, Wenshan Dist., Taipei City, 116325 Taiwan ; yuchi.cheng@gapps.ntnu.edu.tw; Center of Astronomy and Gravitation, National Taiwan Normal University , No. 88, Sect. 4, Tingzhou Road, Wenshan Dist., Taipei City, 116325 TaiwanCalifornia Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Boulevard, MC 11-17, Pasadena, CA 91125-1700, USAInstitute of Astronomy, National Central University , No. 300, Zhongda Road, Zhongli Dist., Taoyuan City, 320317 TaiwanIPAC, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USAIPAC, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125, USAWe report comet-like activity on the outer main-belt asteroid 2005 XR _132 discovered by the Lulin One-meter Telescope in early 2021 April. A series of follow-up observations were triggered to characterize the morphology and brightness variation of 2005 XR _132 . Long-term photometric data of the 2020 perihelion return reveal a 2 mag fading in 120 days, starting 20 days postperihelion, attributed to decreased cometary activity. Even though no variation indicative of the rotational period can be found in our data, we infer an a / b axial ratio of 1.32, given that the lower limit of rotational amplitude is 0.3 mag. A visible spectrum and broadband color support that 2005 XR _132 has a reflectance feature similar to a BR-type Centaur object. The syndyne and synchrone simulations reveal a low-speed dust ejecta consisting of millimeter-sized dust grains released shortly after the perihelion passage. We demonstrate that 2005 XR _132 has a short dynamical lifetime of 0.12 Myr, with <5% of it in the near-Earth space. Due to the strong gravitational influence from Jupiter and Saturn, the asteroid has followed a random walk orbital migrating process. We also find that since 1550 CE, the perihelion distance of 2005 XR _132 has gradually decreased from 2.8 to 2.0 au, likely due to the Kozai–Lidov effect, which potentially reactivated the dormant nucleus. All these dynamical properties support a cometary origin for 2005 XR _132 rather than an ice-rich main-belt object kicked out from a stable orbit, although current observational evidence has yet to confirm repeating cometary activities.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad226bAsteroid dynamicsComet dust tailsOptical astronomyBroad band photometry |
| spellingShingle | Yu-Chi Cheng Bryce T. Bolin Michael S. P. Kelley D. Bodewits Quanzhi Ye Christoffer Fremling Zhong-Yi Lin Ya-Lin Wu Reed L. Riddle Wing-Huen Ip Steven L. Groom Russ R. Laher Postperihelion Cometary Activity on the Outer Main-belt Asteroid 2005 XR132 The Planetary Science Journal Asteroid dynamics Comet dust tails Optical astronomy Broad band photometry |
| title | Postperihelion Cometary Activity on the Outer Main-belt Asteroid 2005 XR132 |
| title_full | Postperihelion Cometary Activity on the Outer Main-belt Asteroid 2005 XR132 |
| title_fullStr | Postperihelion Cometary Activity on the Outer Main-belt Asteroid 2005 XR132 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Postperihelion Cometary Activity on the Outer Main-belt Asteroid 2005 XR132 |
| title_short | Postperihelion Cometary Activity on the Outer Main-belt Asteroid 2005 XR132 |
| title_sort | postperihelion cometary activity on the outer main belt asteroid 2005 xr132 |
| topic | Asteroid dynamics Comet dust tails Optical astronomy Broad band photometry |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/ad226b |
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