427P/ATLAS

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427P/ATLAS
Shape-Shifting Asteroid with a Comet-like Tail - Noaoann19003a.jpg
Comet 427P/ATLAS photographed from the WIYN Observatory (left) and the Hubble Space Telescope (right). [1]
Discovery [2]
Discovered by Aren Heinze
Discovery site ATLAS–HKO (T05)
Discovery date27 September 2017
Designations
P/2017 S5, P/2021 L6
Orbital characteristics [3] [4]
Epoch 23 November 2017 (JD 2458080.5)
Observation arc 3.89 years
Earliest precovery date11 September 2017
Number of
observations		438
Aphelion 4.163 AU
Perihelion 2.178 AU
Semi-major axis 3.171 AU
Eccentricity 0.31304
Orbital period 5.646 years
Inclination 11.849°
252.39°
Argument of
periapsis 		99.944°
Mean anomaly 20.594°
Last perihelion19 March 2023 [5]
Next perihelion31 October 2028 [5]
TJupiter 3.092
Earth MOID 1.210 AU
Jupiter MOID 1.664 AU
Physical characteristics [6] [7]
Mean radius
0.45 ± 0.06 km (0.280 ± 0.037 mi)
~1.4 hours
0.06±0.02
(V–R) = 0.43±0.05
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		10.7
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		15.8

427P/ATLAS is a periodic comet and an active asteroid with a 5.65-year orbit around the Sun. It is the second comet discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System after 478P/ATLAS. [8]

Contents

Orbit

The comet orbits within the main asteroid belt at distances between 2.18 AU (326 million km) and 4.16 AU (622 million km) from the Sun. [3] Studies of its orbital trajectory revealed that it is highly likely a member of the Theobalda collisional family, [9] a group of asteroids formed from a large, shattered parent body about 7 million years ago. [10] The main-belt comets 455P/PANSTARRS and 483P/PANSTARRS also belong to this group.

Physical characteristics

Like most of the main-belt comets, the observed activity from 427P/ATLAS is driven by the sublimation of water ice on its surface, which its mass loss rate is estimated to be about ~5.0±3.0 kg/sec-1 during its perihelion in 2017. [11]

Photometric observations from the Lisnyky Observatory showed that this comet has some notable instability of color, likely caused by the injection of fresh material to its coma. [6]

Observations from the Hubble Space Telescope in 2019 had determined that its nucleus has an effective radius of 0.450±0.060 km, assuming a geometric albedo of 0.06±0.02. [7] [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Shape-Shifting Asteroid with a Comet-like Tai". NOIRLab. National Science Foundation. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  2. ↑ A. Heinze; H. Sato; R. A. Kowalski; K. Sarneczky; O. Hanyecz; et al. (September 2017). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2017 S5 (ATLAS)". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 4434 (1). Bibcode:2017CBET.4434....1S.
  3. 1 2 "427P/ATLAS – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "427P/ATLAS Orbit". Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  5. 1 2 S. Yoshida. "427P/ATLAS". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  6. 1 2 S. Borysenko; A. Baransky; E. Musiichuk (2019). "Photometric observations of ecliptic comet 47P/Ashbrook–Jackson and selected quasi-Hilda and main-belt comets at Kyiv Comet Station (MPC code - 585) in 2017". Icarus . 317: 44–47. arXiv: 2005.11143 . Bibcode:2019Icar..317...44B. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2018.07.003.
  7. 1 2 H. H. Hsieh; M. Micheli; M. S. P. Kelley; M. M. Knight; N. A. Moskovitz; et al. (2023). "Observational Characterization of Main-belt Comet and Candidate Main-belt Comet Nuclei". Planetary Science Journal. 4 (3): 43–65. arXiv: 2302.11689 . Bibcode:2023PSJ.....4...43H. doi: 10.3847/PSJ/acbdfe .
  8. ↑ "478P/ATLAS Orbit". Minor Planet Center . Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  9. ↑ B. Novaković (2018). "P/2017 S5: Another Active Asteroid Associated with the Theobalda Family". Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society. 2 (3). arXiv: 1807.08728 . Bibcode:2018RNAAS...2..129N. doi: 10.3847/2515-5172/aad412 .
  10. ↑ Y. Xin; J. Shi; Y. Ma (2024). "Research of the family associations of active asteroids in the main belt". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 527 (4): 10309–10334. Bibcode:2024MNRAS.52710309X. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stad3883 .
  11. 1 2 D. C. Jewitt; Y. Kim; J. Rajagopal; S. Ridgway; R. Kotulla; et al. (2019). "Active Asteroid P/2017 S5 (ATLAS)". The Astronomical Journal. 157 (2): 1–8. arXiv: 1812.00060 . Bibcode:2019AJ....157...54J. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/aaf563 .
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