354P/LINEAR

354P/LINEAR
Hubble Space Telescope image of 354P/LINEAR with dusty impact debris on 2 February 2010
Discovery
Discovered byLINEAR (704)
Discovery date6 January 2010
Designations
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 13 February 2014 (JD 2456701.5 )
Uncertainty parameter 3
Aphelion2.5758 AU (Q)
Perihelion2.0035 AU (q)
2.2897 AU (a)
Eccentricity0.12497
3.4648 yr
75.964° (M)
Inclination5.2561°
320.24°
2 April 2027
132.73°
Jupiter MOID2.5831 AU
TJupiter3.583
Physical characteristics
Dimensions172.4 × 88.8 m
123.8+33.6
−18.4 m
11.36±0.02 h
Albedounknown
~18-20
21.3±0.6

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.

Discovery

Orbit of P/2010 A2 at the time of its discovery

P/2010 A2 was discovered on 6 January 2010 by Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) using a 1-meter (39 in) reflecting telescope with a CCD camera. It was LINEAR's 193rd comet discovery. It has been observed over a 112-day arc of the 3.5 year orbit. It appears to have come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) around the start of December 2009, about a month before it was discovered.

Orbit

With an aphelion (furthest distance from the Sun) of only 2.6 AU, P/2010 A2 spends all of its time inside of the frost line at 2.7 AU. Beyond the frostline volatile ices are generally more common. Early observations did not detect water vapor or other gases. Within less than a month of its discovery it was doubtful that the tail of P/2010 A2 was generated via active outgassing from sublimation of ices hidden beneath the crust. Early modeling indicated that the asteroid became active in late March 2009, reached maximum activity in early June 2009, and eased activity in early December 2009.

354P was originally thought to belong to the Flora family, an asteroid family produced by a disruptive collision more than 100 million years ago. The Flora family of asteroids may be the source of the Chicxulub impactor, a possible culprit in the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. However, subsequent studies on 354P's dynamics have instead shown an association with the Baptistina family, estimated to be around 100–320 million years old, and a refuted candidate for the Chicxulub Impactor after being ruled out by a Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) study. One asteroid of the Flora family, 2010 AA15, was initially suspected to have collided with P/2010 A2 due to their very similar orbits, but was later deemed a coincidence.

Cause of activity

354P/LINEAR as seen an 8 min photo with a 24" telescope

Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and the narrow angle camera on board the Rosetta spacecraft indicate that the dust trail seen was probably created by the impact of a small meter size object on the larger asteroid in February or March 2009, although it cannot be ruled out that the asteroid's rotation increased from solar radiation resulting in a loss of mass that formed a comet-like tail.

P/2010 A2 is likely about 150 meters (490 feet) in diameter. Even when it was discovered it was suspected of being less than 500 meters in diameter.

Debris field

P/2010 A2 is likely the debris left over from a recent collision between two very small asteroids.
Surviving fragment

Surviving fragment seen to the lower left of debris field

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Marsden, Brian G. (7 January 2010). "MPEC 2010-A32 : COMET P/2010 A2 (LINEAR)". IAU Minor Planet Center. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  2. ↑ "When is a comet not a comet? Rosetta finds out". ESA News. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 354P/LINEAR (2010 A2)" (last observation: 2017-01-28; arc: 7.06 years). Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "Horizons Batch for 354P/LINEAR (90001338) on 2027-Apr-02" (Perihelion occurs when rdot flips from negative to positive). JPL Horizons. Retrieved 19 April 2026. (JPL#28 Soln.date: 2024-Apr-16)
  5. 1 2 3 Kim, Yoonyoung; Ishiguro, Masateru; Lee, Myung Gyoon (June 2017). "New Observational Evidence of Active Asteroid P/2010 A2: Slow Rotation of the Largest Fragment". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 842 (2): 5. arXiv:1706.03924. Bibcode:2017ApJ...842L..23K. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aa7944. L23.
  6. ↑ This absolute asteroidal V magnitude has been calculated using comet/asteroid magnitude analysis software "Comet for Windows" from value of R = 23.0±0.5 taken from IAU Circular No. 9109. The mean V-R color index for asteroids is +0.4±0.1.
  7. ↑ "HST Sees Evidence of Colliding Asteroids, Astronomy Today, Feb.2, 2010". Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  8. ↑ Jewitt, David C. "P/2010 A2 (LINEAR): Possible Asteroid Smash". UCLA (Department of Earth and Space Sciences). Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  9. ↑ Hergenrother, Carl W.; The Curious Case of Comet LINEAR, The Transient Sky, 10 January 2010 (1.8-m telescope on Kitt Peak)
  10. ↑ Catalogue of Comet Discoveries, Comethunter.de
  11. ↑ "Glossary of Astronomical Terms (Ice line)". Glossary of Astronomical Terms. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Harrington, J. D.; Villard, Ray (2 February 2010). "Suspected Asteroid Collision Leaves Trailing Debris". NASA Release : 10-029. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  13. ↑ Jewitt, David C. "P/2010 A2 (LINEAR): The 5th Main-Belt Comet". UCLA (Department of Earth and Space Sciences). Archived from the original on 4 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  14. ↑ Méndez, Javier (23 July 2010). "Comet P/2010 A2, an Activated Asteroid from the Main Asteroid Belt". Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING). Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  15. ↑ "Origin of Dinosaur-killing Asteroid remains a Mystery". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. September 19th, 2011. Retrieved October 2nd, 2026. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help)
  16. ↑ Gray, Bill J. (3 February 2010). "{MPML} P/2010 A2, 2010 AA15 results of a collision? (probably no)". Minor Planets Mailing List. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  17. ↑ Kelley, Michael; Reach, William; Trilling, David; Vaubaillon, Jeremie; Mueller, Michael; Emery, Joshua (March 2010). "The Peculiar Object P/2010 A2 (LINEAR)". Spitzer Proposal (544). Bibcode:2010sptz.prop..544K.
  18. ↑ Jewitt, David C.; Weaver, Harold; Agarwal, Jessica; Mutchler, Max; et al. (2010). "A recent disruption of the main-belt asteroid P/2010?A2". Nature. 467 (7317): 817–9. Bibcode:2010Natur.467..817J. doi:10.1038/nature09456. PMID 20944743. S2CID 205222567.
  19. ↑ Snodgrass, Colin; Tubiana, Cecilia; Vincent, Jean-Baptiste; Sierks, Holger; Hviid, Stubbe; Moissl, Richard; Boehnhardt, Hermann; Barbieri, Cesare; et al. (2010). "A collision in 2009 as the origin of the debris trail of asteroid P/2010?A2". Nature. 467 (7317): 814–6. arXiv:1010.2883. Bibcode:2010Natur.467..814S. doi:10.1038/nature09453. PMID 20944742. S2CID 4330570.
  20. ↑ Harrington, J. D.; Weaver, Donna; Jewitt, David C. (13 October 2010). "Hubble Finds that a Bizarre X-Shaped Intruder Is Linked to an Unseen Asteroid Collision". Hubblesite newscenter STScI-2010-34. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  21. ↑ Shanklin, Jonathan (18 January 2010). "BAA Comet Section : Comets discovered in 2010". Institute of Astronomy (British Astronomical Association). Retrieved 21 January 2010.