324P/La Sagra

324P/La Sagra
324P/La Sagra by Hubble Space Telescope on 7 December 2015
Discovery[1]
Discovered byLa Sagra Observatory
Discovery date14 September 2010
Designations
P/2010 R2
P/2015 K3
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch12 December 2012
Earliest precovery date12 August 2010
Aphelion3.569 AU
Perihelion2.618 AU
Semi-major axis3.094 AU
Eccentricity0.1538
Orbital period5.44 years
Inclination21.42°
270.65°
Argument of
periapsis		58.90°
Last perihelion5 May 2021[2]
Earth MOID1.67 AU
Jupiter MOID1.83 AU
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
1.6 km [3]
1.1±0.1 km [4]
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		7.5 [3]
Comet nuclear
magnitude (M2)		15.6 [3]

324P/La Sagra is an active asteroid with an orbital period of 5.44 years. It has been found to be active in more than one perihelia, indicating that the source of activity is sublimation.[5]

The asteroid was first noticed in images taken by La Sagra Observatory on 14.9 September 2010 with a 0.45-m f/2.8 reflector by J. Nomen, who also noticed it was diffuse. The asteroid was also found in images obtained in 13 August, but showed no cometary features. On 17 September was noticed that it has a coma with a diameter of 6 arcseconds and a tail 11 arcseconds long.[1]

The comet was recovered on 21 March 2015 by Scott S. Sheppard at Las Campanas Observatory.[6] The object was one magnitude brighter than expected, indicating dust production at a heliocentric distance of 2.8 AU, and in May and June a dust tail was observed.[5]

The nucleus of the comet has an effective radius of 0.55±0.05 km.[4] The source of activity is water ice sublimation from an area that covers about 0.2% of the surface of the nucleus. The mass loss of the comet is estimated to be 0.2 kg/s[7] and reached 4 kg/s during the 2010 perihelion.[8]

It exhibits non-gravitational acceleration due to outgassing.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Nomen, J.; Birtwhistle, P.; Holmes, R.; Foglia, S.; Scotti, J. V. (1 September 2010). "Comet P/2010 R2 (la Sagra)". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 2459: 1.
  2. ^ "324P/La Sagra (2021)". www.aerith.net. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "Small-Body Database Lookup: 324P/La Sagra". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b Hsieh, Henry H. (November 2014). "The nucleus of main-belt Comet P/2010 R2 (La Sagra)". Icarus. 243: 16–26. arXiv:1408.4860. Bibcode:2014Icar..243...16H. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2014.08.033. S2CID 118407966.
  5. ^ a b Hsieh, H. H.; Sheppard, S. S. (21 November 2015). "The reactivation of main-belt Comet 324P/La Sagra (P/2010 R2)". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 454 (1): L81–L85. arXiv:1508.07140. doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slv125.
  6. ^ Gareth, Williams (26 May 2015). "MPEC 2015-K101: P/2010 R2 = 2015 K3 (LA SAGRA)". Minor Planet Electronic Circulars. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  7. ^ Jewitt, David; Agarwal, Jessica; Weaver, Harold; Mutchler, Max; Li, Jing; Larson, Stephen (6 September 2016). "Hubble Space Telescope observations of active asteroid 324P/La Sagra". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (3): 77. arXiv:1606.08522. Bibcode:2016AJ....152...77J. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/77. hdl:10150/621499. S2CID 119293534.
  8. ^ Moreno, F.; Lara, L. M.; Licandro, J.; Ortiz, J. L.; de León, J.; Alí-Lagoa, V.; Agís-González, B.; Molina, A. (1 September 2011). "The Dust Environment of Main-Belt Comet P/2010 R2 (La Sagra)". The Astrophysical Journal. 738 (1): L16. Bibcode:2011ApJ...738L..16M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/738/1/L16. S2CID 120598974.
  9. ^ Hui (許文韜), Man-To; Jewitt, David (25 January 2017). "Non-Gravitational Acceleration of the Active Asteroids". The Astronomical Journal. 153 (2): 80. arXiv:1612.06920. Bibcode:2017AJ....153...80H. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/153/2/80. S2CID 119064414.


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