249P/LINEAR

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249P/LINEAR
249P 2020-07-31 image ZTF-sso-611-zr-fov-9.3arcmin.png
The comet on 31 July 2020 by ZTF
Discovery [1]
Discovered by LINEAR
Discovery dateOctober 19, 2006
Designations
P/2006 U1, P/2011 A4
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch July 25, 2014 (2456863.5)
Aphelion 5.038 AU
Perihelion 0.502 AU
Semi-major axis 2.770 AU
Eccentricity 0.8187
Orbital period 4.611 a
1684.2 d
Inclination 8.399°
239.852°
Argument of
periapsis 		64.81°
Last perihelion29 June 2020 [3]
Next perihelion1 February 2025 [3]
TJupiter 2.707
Earth MOID 0.048 AU
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		18.4 [2]

249P/LINEAR is a periodic Jupiter-family comet with an orbital period of 4.61 years. It was discovered by LINEAR on 19 October 2006. [1] It is only active for a brief period around perihelion.

Contents

Observational history

The comet was at first reported as an asteroidal object with an apparent magnitude of 17.3 by LINEAR on 19 October 2006. However it was quickly found to be cometary in appearance, with a narrow tail up to 12 arcminutes long and a coma 10 arcseconds across. [1] On 21 October the tail appeared almost disconnected from the head of the comet. A preliminary orbit suggested a short period object with an orbital period of 4.33 years. [1] The comet was recovered on 14 January 2011 by Leonid Elenin using a remote observatory of ISON, when it had an apparent magnitude of 19–19.5. [4]

249P/LINEAR has frequently passed through the fields of view of various solar observatories when near perihelion. Its most favorable apparition to date came in 2020 (perihelion June 29) when it was successfully observed by SOHO from June 16-21 (heliocentric distance, r = 0.58-0.52 AU; cometocentric distance, delta = 0.44-0.49 AU; phase angle = 163-171 deg), Parker Solar Probe on June 28 (r = 0.50 AU; delta = 0.11 AU; phase = 120 deg), and STEREO-A from July 2-16 (r = 0.50-0.62 AU; delta = 1.18-1.46 AU; phase = 53-28 deg). In addition, it was well observed by STEREO-A in April 2011 (r = 0.57-0.52 AU; delta =0.46-0.44 AU; phase = 135-166 deg) and was not detected by SOHO despite highly favorable viewing geometry in May 1997 (r = 0.79-0.73 AU; delta = 0.20-0.27 AU; phase = 168-171 deg). It was also not detected by SOHO and STEREO on several other apparitions at less favorable viewing geometries. [5]

During the 2020 apparition the comet appeared to lack a central condensation in images obtained in 20 and 21 July and with an apparent magnitude of 15 it was fainter than predicted, leading to speculation that the comet disintergrated. [6]

On 3 November 2029 the comet will approach Earth to a distance of 0.057 AU (8.5 million km) with a relative speed of 26.93 km/s. [2]

Scientific results

The comet has an absolute (visual) nuclear magnitude of 17.0 ± 0.4 which corresponds to a radius of 1 to 1.3 kilometers assuming an albedo of 0.04–0.07. [7] The reflection spectrum is similar to that of a B-type asteroid when the comet is near perihelion, [7] but it is weakly red when it is less active, like a typical C-type asteroid, and it appears featureless. [8]

The current orbit suggests that the orbit has been stable in the near-Earth space for about 10,000 years. It is possible that it originates from the main asteroid belt. [7] The perihelion distance appears to be slightly decreasing, meaning that it is at or near its warmest stage for the last few thousands years. [8] It is possible that the comet is dynamically linked with the Taurid complex, which was created by comet Encke. [9]

Observations of the comet during the 2006 and 2016 apparitions indicate that it is active for about 20 days around perihelion, with a dust production rate up to 145 ± 50 kg/s and a total mass loss of (2.5±0.9)×108 kg, which is low when compared with other Jupiter-family comets, indicating that it is depleted in volatiles. [7] [10] It may be near the end of its active phase and evolve to a mostly inactive body, like 3200 Phaethon. [11]

Meteor showers

The comet has been associated with the weak 68 Virginids meteor shower (#651). [12] The shower is also known as the October α-Virginids and was deteced by the cameras of CAMS and SonotaCo. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet</span> Natural object in space that releases gas

A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or coma surrounding the nucleus, and sometimes a tail of gas and dust gas blown out from the coma. These phenomena are due to the effects of solar radiation and the outstreaming solar wind plasma acting upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei range from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers across and are composed of loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles. The coma may be up to 15 times Earth's diameter, while the tail may stretch beyond one astronomical unit. If sufficiently close and bright, a comet may be seen from Earth without the aid of a telescope and can subtend an arc of up to 30° across the sky. Comets have been observed and recorded since ancient times by many cultures and religions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet Hyakutake</span> Great Comet of 1996

Comet Hyakutake is a comet discovered on 31 January 1996. It was dubbed the Great Comet of 1996; its passage to within 0.1 AU (15 Gm) of the Earth on 25 March was one of the closest cometary approaches of the previous 200 years. Reaching an apparent visual magnitude of zero and spanning nearly 80°, Hyakutake appeared very bright in the night sky and was widely seen around the world. The comet temporarily upstaged the much anticipated Comet Hale–Bopp, which was approaching the inner Solar System at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet Encke</span> Periodic comet with 3-year orbit

Comet Encke, or Encke's Comet, is a periodic comet that completes an orbit of the Sun once every 3.3 years. Encke was first recorded by Pierre Méchain on 17 January 1786, but it was not recognized as a periodic comet until 1819 when its orbit was computed by Johann Franz Encke. Like Halley's Comet, it is unusual in its being named after the calculator of its orbit rather than its discoverer. Like most comets, it has a very low albedo, reflecting only 4.6% of the light its nucleus receives, although comets generate a large coma and tail that can make them much more visible during their perihelion. The diameter of the nucleus of Encke's Comet is 4.8 km.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12P/Pons–Brooks</span> Periodic comet with 71-year orbit

12P/Pons–Brooks is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 71 years. Comets with an orbital period of 20–200 years are referred to as Halley-type comets. It is one of the brightest known periodic comets, reaching an absolute visual magnitude of about 5 in its approach to perihelion. Comet Pons-Brooks was conclusively discovered at Marseilles Observatory in July 1812 by Jean-Louis Pons, and on its next appearance in 1883 by William Robert Brooks. However it has been confirmed 12P/Pons–Brooks was observed before the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">55P/Tempel–Tuttle</span> Periodic comet

55P/Tempel–Tuttle is a retrograde periodic comet with an orbital period of 33 years. It fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet with a period of between 20 and 200 years. It was independently discovered by Wilhelm Tempel on 19 December 1865, and by Horace Parnell Tuttle on 6 January 1866. It is the parent body of the Leonid meteor shower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1566 Icarus</span> Asteroid

1566 Icarus is a large near-Earth object of the Apollo group and the lowest numbered potentially hazardous asteroid. It has an extremely eccentric orbit (0.83) and measures approximately 1.4 km (0.87 mi) in diameter. In 1968, it became the first asteroid ever observed by radar. Its orbit brings it closer to the Sun than Mercury and further out than the orbit of Mars, which also makes it a Mercury-, Venus-, and Mars-crossing asteroid. This stony asteroid and relatively fast rotator with a period of 2.27 hours was discovered on 27 June 1949, by German astronomer Walter Baade at the Palomar Observatory in California. It was named after the mythological Icarus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3200 Phaethon</span> Asteroid responsible for the Geminids meteor shower

3200 Phaethon, provisionally designated 1983 TB, is an active Apollo asteroid with an orbit that brings it closer to the Sun than any other named asteroid. For this reason, it was named after the Greek Hero, Phaëthon, son of the sun god Helios. It is 5.8 km (3.6 mi) in diameter and is the parent body of the Geminids meteor shower of mid-December. With an observation arc of 35+ years, it has a very well determined orbit. The 2017 Earth approach distance of about 10 million km was known with an accuracy of ±700 m.

The Kreutz sungrazers are a family of sungrazing comets, characterized by orbits taking them extremely close to the Sun at perihelion. At the far extreme of their orbits, aphelion, Kreutz sungrazers can be a hundred times farther from the Sun than the Earth is, while their distance of closest approach can be less than twice the Sun's radius. They are believed to be fragments of one large comet that broke up several centuries ago and are named for German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz, who first demonstrated that they were related. These sungrazers make their way from the distant outer Solar System to the inner Solar System, to their perihelion point near the Sun, and then leave the inner Solar System in their return trip to their aphelion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann</span> Multiple fragment periodic comet with 5-year orbit

73P/Schwassmann–Wachmann, also known as Schwassmann–Wachmann 3 or SW3 for short, is a periodic comet that has a 5.4 year orbital period and that has been actively disintegrating since 1995. When it came to perihelion in March 2017, fragment 73P-BT was separating from the main fragment 73P-C. Fragments 73P-BU and 73P-BV were detected in July 2022. The main comet came to perihelion on 25 August 2022, when the comet was 0.97 AU from the Sun and 1 AU from Earth. It will be less than 80 degrees from the Sun from 25 May 2022 until August 2023. On 3 April 2025 it will make a modest approach of 0.3 AU to Jupiter. 73P will next come to perihelion on 23 December 2027 when it will be 0.92 AU from the Sun and on the far side of the Sun 1.9 AU from Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková</span> Periodic comet with 5 year orbit

45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková is a short-period comet discovered by Minoru Honda December 3, 1948. It is named after Minoru Honda, Antonín Mrkos, and Ľudmila Pajdušáková. The object revolves around the Sun on an elliptical orbit with a period of 5.25 years. The nucleus is 1.3 kilometers in diameter. On August 19 and 20, 2011, it became the fifteenth comet detected by ground radar telescope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">354P/LINEAR</span> Small solar system body

354P/LINEAR, provisionally designated P/2010 A2 (LINEAR), is a small main-belt asteroid that was impacted by another asteroid sometime before 2010. It was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) at Socorro, New Mexico on 6 January 2010. The asteroid possesses a dusty, X-shaped, comet-like debris trail that has remained nearly a decade since impact. This was the first time a small-body collision had been observed; since then, minor planet 596 Scheila has also been seen to undergo a collision, in late 2010. The tail is created by millimeter-sized particles being pushed back by solar radiation pressure.

(5496) 1973 NA, is a very eccentric and heavily tilted asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 July 1973, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California. At the time of its discovery, it was the most highly inclined minor planet known to exist. It may be the parent body of the Quadrantids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comet Swift–Tuttle</span> Halley-type comet and parent body of the Perseid meteors

Comet Swift–Tuttle is a large periodic comet with a 1995 (osculating) orbital period of 133 years that is in a 1:11 orbital resonance with Jupiter. It fits the classical definition of a Halley-type comet, which has an orbital period between 20 and 200 years. The comet was independently discovered by Lewis Swift on 16 July 1862 and by Horace Parnell Tuttle on 19 July 1862.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">209P/LINEAR</span> Periodic comet

209P/LINEAR is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 5.1 years. The comet has extremely low activity for its size and is probably in the process of evolving into an extinct comet.

72P/Denning–Fujikawa is a periodic comet discovered on 4 October 1881 by William Frederick Denning. The comet was not seen at another apparition until recovered by Shigehisa Fujikawa in 1978. From 29 December 1978 until 17 June 2014, the comet was lost. On 17 June 2014 the comet was recovered by Hidetaka Sato at apparent magnitude 16 when it was 50 degrees from the Sun. The comet came to perihelion in June 2023, and will next come to perihelion in May 2032.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">252P/LINEAR</span> Periodic comet and near-earth object

Comet 252P/LINEAR is a periodic comet and near-Earth object discovered by the LINEAR survey on April 7, 2000. The comet is a Jupiter family comet, meaning that it passes quite close to the orbit of Jupiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">460P/PanSTARRS</span> Near-Earth object and periodic comet of the Jupiter family

460P/PanSTARRS (also known with the provisional designation P/2016 BA14) is a near-Earth object and periodic comet of the Jupiter family, with an orbital period of 5.25 years. In March 2016 it passed at distance of 2.2 million miles (3.5 million km, or 9 lunar distances) from Earth. It was the closest approach by a comet since 1770 and 3rd closest recorded comet to Earth. The close flyby enabled the size of the nucleus to be calculated at about 1 km (0.62 mi) in diameter, which was much bigger than expected. The comet is very dark, reflecting about 2-3 percent of the visible light, about the same as a charcoal briquette. It has a very similar orbit as numbered comet 252P/LINEAR, and may be related to it (e.g. split off of).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">126P/IRAS</span>

126P/IRAS is a periodic comet with an orbital period of 13.4 years. It was discovered in images taken by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) on 28 July 1983 by J. Davies. The discovery was confirmed with images taken with the 1.2-m Schmidt telescope at Palomar Observatory.

(155140) 2005 UD is an asteroid on an eccentric orbit, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group. It was discovered on 22 October 2005, by the Catalina Sky Survey at the Catalina Station in Arizona, United States. 2005 UD is thought to be a possible fragment of 3200 Phaethon due to its similar orbit, although it is not dynamically associated with the Geminid meteor stream produced by Phaethon.

C/1917 F1 (Mellish), also known as Comet 1917Ι and 1917a, is a Halley-type comet discovered by John E. Mellish on 19 March 1917. The comet has an orbital period of 143 years and last passed perihelion on 11 April 1917. It is the parent body of the December Monocerotids and has also been suggested to be the parent body of daytime kappa Leonids, April ρ-Cygnids, November Orionids, and Canis-Minorids meteor showers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 McGaha, J. E.; Young, J.; Hicks, M.; Hug, G.; Tibbets, D.; Ries, J. G.; Reina, E.; Durig, D. T.; Pierce, E. A.; Christensen, E. J.; Stevens, B. L. (1 October 2006). "Comet P/2006 U1 (LINEAR)". International Astronomical Union Circular (8763): 1. ISSN   0081-0304.
  2. 1 2 3 "Small-Body Database Lookup: 249P/LINEAR". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  3. 1 2 "249P/LINEAR". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  4. ↑ Elenin, L.; Nakano, S.; Green, D. W. E. (1 January 2011). "Comet P/2011 a4 = P/2006 u1 (linear)". International Astronomical Union Circular (9194): 1. Bibcode:2011IAUC.9194....1E. ISSN   0081-0304.
  5. ↑ Knight, M. M.; Battams, K.; Kelley, M. S.; Stenbourg, G.; Marcus, J. N.; Hsieh, H. H. (1 October 2020). "Multi-spacecraft study of the activity of comet 249P/LINEAR near perihelion from 1997-2020". Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 52 (6): 319.05. Bibcode:2020DPS....5231905K. CC-BY icon.svg This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license.
  6. ↑ Lin, Zhong-Yi; Ip, Wing-Huen; Kelley, Michael S. P.; Lin, Chi-Sheng; Hsiao, Hsiang-Yao; Hou, Wei-Jir; Lin, Hung-Chin (1 July 2020). "The Disintegration of Comet 249P/LINEAR". The Astronomer's Telegram. 13890: 1. Bibcode:2020ATel13890....1L.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Fernández, Julio A.; Licandro, Javier; Moreno, Fernando; Sosa, Andrea; Cabrera-Lavers, Antonio; de León, Julia; Birtwhistle, Peter (October 2017). "Physical and dynamical properties of the anomalous comet 249P/LINEAR". Icarus. 295: 34–45. arXiv: 1704.04639 . Bibcode:2017Icar..295...34F. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2017.04.004.
  8. 1 2 Kareta, Theodore; Hergenrother, Carl; Reddy, Vishnu; Harris, Walter M. (1 February 2021). "Surfaces of (Nearly) Dormant Comets and the Recent History of the Quadrantid Meteor Shower". The Planetary Science Journal. 2 (1): 31. Bibcode:2021PSJ.....2...31K. doi: 10.3847/PSJ/abd403 .
  9. ↑ Orofino, Vincenzo (4 October 2022). "Main Belt Comets and other "Interlopers" in the Solar System". Universe. 8 (10): 518. Bibcode:2022Univ....8..518O. doi: 10.3390/universe8100518 .
  10. ↑ Moreno, Fernando (3 July 2022). "Monte Carlo Models of Comet Dust Tails Observed from the Ground". Universe. 8 (7): 366. Bibcode:2022Univ....8..366M. doi: 10.3390/universe8070366 .
  11. ↑ Kareta, Theodore; Reddy, Vishnu; Hergenrother, Carl; Lauretta, Dante S.; Arai, Tomoko; Takir, Driss; Sanchez, Juan; Hanuš, Josef (1 December 2018). "Rotationally Resolved Spectroscopic Characterization of Near-Earth Object (3200) Phaethon". The Astronomical Journal. 156 (6): 287. arXiv: 1810.11157 . Bibcode:2018AJ....156..287K. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/aaeb8a .
  12. ↑ Ďurišová, Silvia; Tóth, Juraj; Hajduková, Mária (15 October 2023). "Independent identification of meteor showers from the EDMOND and the search for their parent bodies". Planetary and Space Science. 236: 105752. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2023.105752. ISSN   0032-0633.
  13. ↑ Jenniskens, P.; Nénon, Q.; Gural, P.S.; Albers, J.; Haberman, B.; Johnson, B.; Morales, R.; Grigsby, B.J.; Samuels, D.; Johannink, C. (March 2016). "CAMS newly detected meteor showers and the sporadic background". Icarus. 266: 384–409. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.11.009.
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