313P/Gibbs

Not to be confused with 331P/Gibbs. For other comets of the same name, see Comet Gibbs.

313P/Gibbs
Discovery
Discovered byAlex R. Gibbs
Discovery siteCatalina Sky Survey
Discovery date24 September 2014
Designations
P/2003 S10
P/2014 S4
Gibbs 16
Orbital characteristics
Epoch21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Observation arc22 years
Earliest precovery date22 September 2003
Number of
observations		204
Aphelion3.904 AU
Perihelion2.422 AU
Semi-major axis3.163 AU
Eccentricity0.23431
Orbital period5.624 years
Inclination10.981°
105.92°
Argument of
periapsis		254.99°
Mean anomaly357.93°
Last perihelion2 December 2025
Next perihelion2031
TJupiter3.132
Earth MOID1.429 AU
Jupiter MOID1.678 AU
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
0.85 km (0.53 mi)
4 hours
0.05 (assumed)
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		17.1±0.03

313P/Gibbs (P/2014 S4) is an Encke-type comet and active asteroid, discovered by American astronomer Alex Gibbs. It is the third main-belt comet after 133P/Elst–Pizzaro and 238P/Read observed to show mass loss in different orbits.

Observational history

Alex R. Gibbs reported the discovery of this comet as a nearly stellar object with a narrow tail from CCD images taken by the Catalina Sky Survey in 24 September 2014. Shuichi Nakano later identified precovery images of the comet taken as early as September 2003 from the LONEOS and SDSS surveys. It was recovered ahead of its 2020 apparition in August 2019, exhibiting significant non-perihelion activity compared to 2014. The comet was given an official numerical designation in 2017.

Orbit

313P/Gibbs currently orbits at a distance between 2.42–3.9 AU (362–583 million km) from the Sun, within the outer portion of the main asteroid belt. Computations of its orbit reveal that 313P is intrinsically chaotic, with a Lyapunov time of only 12000 years and being located near two three-body mean-motion resonances with Jupiter and Saturn, yet appears stable over 50 million years. Astrometric data analysis shows that 313P is experiencing some transverse non-gravitational acceleration caused by recoil forces due to anisotropic mass loss. It is a member of the Lixiaohua asteroid family, a group of more than 700 asteroids estimated to be around 155 million years old.

Physical characteristics

Nucleus size

Archival imagery from the Subaru Telescope taken in 2004 indicated an upper-limit size of the comet's nucleus to be around 1.00±0.15 km in radius, assuming a geometric albedo of 0.05. Data obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope resulted in a lower-limit of around 0.5–0.7 km in radius. Further observations from the Gemini Observatory in 2017 revised the size estimate to be around 0.85 km (0.53 mi) in radius.

Cometary activity

From its three known appearances since 2003, 313P/Gibbs has consistently shown signs of activity, suggesting that it is likely to be generated from the sublimation of volatile material (ice) from its nucleus. In both the 2003 and 2014 apparitions, dust emissions lasted for at least 3–4 months. Impact driven activity was ruled out, as the mass-loss rate is consistent at 0.2–0.4 kg/s (0.44–0.88 lb/s). The persistent sublimation activity on 313P, along with other active asteroids (133P/Elst–Pizzaro, 238P/Read, and 358P/PanSTARRS), suggests an abundance of ice within the outer asteroid belt. Its water-ice sublimation is non-uniform around perihelion, which is likely related to the seasonal modulation driven by the orientation of its rotational axis.

References

  1. 1 2 A. R. Gibbs; H. Sato (September 2014). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2014 S4 (Gibbs)" (TXT). Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams (3991): 1. Bibcode:2014CBET.3991....1G.
  2. ↑ "Periodic Comet Names and Designations". Planetary Data System: Small Body Node. NASA. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "313P/Gibbs – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 "313P/Gibbs Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 S. Nakano; B. A. Skiff; M. E. Van Ness; et al. (September 2014). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2003 S10 = P/2014 S4 (Gibbs)" (TXT). Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams (4003): 1. Bibcode:2014CBET.4003....1N.
  6. 1 2 H. H. Hsieh; M. Micheli; M. S. P. Kelley; 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.
  7. 1 2 W. Guo; Z. Cai; B. Liu; et al. (2025). "Orientation of the rotation axis and the location of water-ice sublimation activity of the main-belt comet 313P/Gibbs" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 704: 124–134. Bibcode:2025A&A...704A.124G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202556433.
  8. 1 2 3 4 H. H. Hsieh; O. Hainaut; B. Novaković; et al. (2015). "Sublimation-Driven Activity in Main-Belt Comet 313P/Gibbs". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 800 (1): 16–23. arXiv:1501.03873. Bibcode:2015ApJ...800L..16H. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/800/1/L16.
  9. ↑ M. T. Hui; D. C. Jewitt (2015). "Archival Observations of Active Asteroid 313P/Gibbs". The Astronomical Journal. 149 (4): 134–142. Bibcode:2015AJ....149..134H. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/149/4/134.
  10. ↑ H. H. Hsieh; J. Pittichova; P. Prado; et al. (September 2019). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet 313P/Gibbs" (TXT). Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams (4661): 1. Bibcode:2019CBET.4661....1H.
  11. ↑ H. Liang; J. C. Shi; Y. H. Ma (2025). "Secular Light Curve of Main-belt Comets". Acta Astronomica Sinica (in Chinese). 66 (2): 13. Bibcode:2025AcASn..66...13L. doi:10.15940/j.cnki.0001-5245.2025.02.002.
  12. ↑ D. W. Green (January 2017). "Numbering of Short-Period Comets" (TXT). Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams (4343): 1. Bibcode:2017CBET.4343....1G.
  13. ↑ M. T. Hui; D. C. Jewitt (2017). "Non-gravitational Acceleration of the Active Asteroids". The Astronomical Journal. 153 (2): 80–89. arXiv:1612.06920. Bibcode:2017AJ....153...80H. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/153/2/80.
  14. ↑ M. N. De Prá; J. Licandro; N. Pinilla-Alonso; et al. (2020). "The spectroscopic properties of the Lixiaohua family, cradle of Main Belt Comets". Icarus. 338 113473. Bibcode:2020Icar..33813473D. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113473.
  15. ↑ B. Novaković; K. Tsiganis; Z. Knezevic. "Dynamical portrait of the Lixiaohua asteroid family" (PDF). Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy. 107 (1–2): 35–49. Bibcode:2010CeMDA.107...35N. doi:10.1007/s10569-010-9263-9.
  16. ↑ D. C. Jewitt; J. Li; J. Agarwal; et al. (2015). "Nucleus and Mass Loss from Active Asteroid 313P/Gibbs". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 76–88. arXiv:1507.01983. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...76J. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/76.
  17. ↑ F. J. Pozuelos; A. Cabrera-Lavers; J. Licandro; F. Moreno (2015). "On the Dust Environment of Main-Belt Comet 313P/Gibbs". The Astrophysical Journal. 806 (1): 102–108. arXiv:1505.01479. Bibcode:2015ApJ...806..102P. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/806/1/102.
  18. ↑ D. C. Jewitt; J. Agarwal; N. Peixinho; et al. (2015). "A New Active Asteroid 313P/Gibbs". The Astronomical Journal. 149 (2): 81–90. arXiv:1412.6582. Bibcode:2015AJ....149...81J. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/149/2/81.