Discovery of Main-Belt Comet P/2006 VW139 by Pan-STARRS 1

Henry H. Hsieh; Bin Yang; Nader Haghighipour; Heather M. Kaluna; Alan Fitzsimmons; Larry Denneau; Bojan Novaković; Robert Jedicke; Richard J. Wainscoat; James D. Armstrong; Samuel R. Duddy; Stephen C. Lowry; Chadwick A. Trujillo; Marco Micheli; Jacqueline V. Keane; Laurie Urban; Timm Riesen; Karen J. Meech; Shinsuke Abe; Yu-Chi Cheng; Wen-Ping Chen; Mikael Granvik; Tommy Grav; Wing-Huen Ip; Daisuke Kinoshita; Jan Kleyna; Pedro Lacerda; Tim Lister; Andrea Milani; David J. Tholen; Peter Vereš; Carey M. Lisse; Michael S. Kelley; Yanga R. Fernandez; Bhuwan C. Bhatt; Devendra K. Sahu; Nick Kaiser; K. C. Chambers; Klaus W. Hodapp; Eugene A. Magnier; Paul A. Price; John L.  Tonry

doi:10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L15

Discovery of Main-Belt Comet P/2006 VW₁₃₉ by Pan-STARRS 1

Henry H. Hsieh
, Bin Yang
, Nader Haghighipour
, Heather M. Kaluna
, Alan Fitzsimmons
, Larry Denneau
, Bojan Novaković
, Robert Jedicke
, Richard J. Wainscoat
, James D. Armstrong
, Samuel R. Duddy
, Stephen C. Lowry
, Chadwick A. Trujillo
, Marco Micheli
, Jacqueline V. Keane
, Laurie Urban
, Timm Riesen
, Karen J. Meech
, Shinsuke Abe
, Yu-Chi Cheng

Wen-Ping Chen, Mikael Granvik, Tommy Grav, Wing-Huen Ip, Daisuke Kinoshita, Jan Kleyna, Pedro Lacerda, Tim Lister, Andrea Milani, David J. Tholen, Peter Vereš, Carey M. Lisse, Michael S. Kelley, Yanga R. Fernandez, Bhuwan C. Bhatt, Devendra K. Sahu, Nick Kaiser, K. C. Chambers, Klaus W. Hodapp, Eugene A. Magnier, Paul A. Price, John L. Tonry

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Abstract

The main-belt asteroid (300163) 2006 VW139 (later designated P/2006 VW139) was discovered to exhibit comet-like activity by the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) survey telescope using automated point-spread-function analyses performed by PS1's Moving Object Processing System. Deep follow-up observations show both a short (~10'') antisolar dust tail and a longer (~60'') dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane, similar to the morphology observed for another main-belt comet (MBC), P/2010 R2 (La Sagra), and other well-established comets, implying the action of a long-lived, sublimation-driven emission event. Photometry showing the brightness of the near-nucleus coma remaining constant over ~30 days provides further evidence for this object's cometary nature, suggesting it is in fact an MBC, and not a disrupted asteroid. A spectroscopic search for CN emission was unsuccessful, though we find an upper limit CN production rate of Q CN 100 Myr, while a search for a potential asteroid family around the object reveals a cluster of 24 asteroids within a cutoff distance of 68 m s-1. At 70 m s-1, this cluster merges with the Themis family, suggesting that it could be similar to the Beagle family to which another MBC, 133P/Elst-Pizarro, belongs.

Original language	English
Article number	L15
Number of pages	7
Journal	The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume	748
Issue number	1
Early online date	02 Mar 2012
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L15
Publication status	Published - 20 Mar 2012

Bibliographical note

H.H.H. is supported by NASA through Hubble Fellowship Grant HF-51274.01 awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) for NASA, under contract NAS 5-26555. B.Y., N.H., H.M.K., and K.J.M. acknowledge support through the NASA Astrobiology Institute under Cooperative Agreement NNA08DA77A. B.N. is supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Serbia (Project 176011). A.F. is supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (Grant ST/F002270/1). M.S.K. is supported by NASA Planetary Astronomy Grant NNX09AF10G. PS1 is operated by the PS1 Science Consortium and its member institutions, and also funded by NASA Grant NNX08AR22G issued through the NASA Science Mission Directorate's Planetary Science Division. Gemini is operated by AURA under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the Gemini partnership. The WHT is operated by the Isaac Newton Group in the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. The Faulkes Telescopes are operated by Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. SDSS-III (http://www.sdss3.org/) is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, NSF, and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, and managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium for the SDSS-III Collaboration.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Space and Planetary Science
Astronomy and Astrophysics

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10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L15

Discovery of Main-Belt Comet P/2006 VW139 by Pan-STARRS 1
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R1913APL: Astrophysics at Queen's University Belfast: 2008 - 2013
Keenan, F. (PI), Dufton, P. (CoI), Fitzsimmons, A. (CoI), Kotak, R. (CoI), Mathioudakis, M. (CoI), Millar, T. (CoI), Pollacco, D. (CoI) & Smartt, S. (CoI)
01/08/2007 → …
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Cite this

Hsieh, H. H., Yang, B., Haghighipour, N., Kaluna, H. M., Fitzsimmons, A., Denneau, L., Novaković, B., Jedicke, R., Wainscoat, R. J., Armstrong, J. D., Duddy, S. R., Lowry, S. C., Trujillo, C. A., Micheli, M., Keane, J. V., Urban, L., Riesen, T., Meech, K. J., Abe, S., ... Tonry, J. L. (2012). Discovery of Main-Belt Comet P/2006 VW₁₃₉ by Pan-STARRS 1. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 748(1), Article L15. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L15

@article{319598548da744a6b3389474edb2a05b,

title = "Discovery of Main-Belt Comet P/2006 VW139 by Pan-STARRS 1",

abstract = "The main-belt asteroid (300163) 2006 VW139 (later designated P/2006 VW139) was discovered to exhibit comet-like activity by the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) survey telescope using automated point-spread-function analyses performed by PS1's Moving Object Processing System. Deep follow-up observations show both a short (\textasciitilde{}10'') antisolar dust tail and a longer (\textasciitilde{}60'') dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane, similar to the morphology observed for another main-belt comet (MBC), P/2010 R2 (La Sagra), and other well-established comets, implying the action of a long-lived, sublimation-driven emission event. Photometry showing the brightness of the near-nucleus coma remaining constant over \textasciitilde{}30 days provides further evidence for this object's cometary nature, suggesting it is in fact an MBC, and not a disrupted asteroid. A spectroscopic search for CN emission was unsuccessful, though we find an upper limit CN production rate of Q CN 100 Myr, while a search for a potential asteroid family around the object reveals a cluster of 24 asteroids within a cutoff distance of 68 m s-1. At 70 m s-1, this cluster merges with the Themis family, suggesting that it could be similar to the Beagle family to which another MBC, 133P/Elst-Pizarro, belongs.",

author = "Hsieh, \{Henry H.\} and Bin Yang and Nader Haghighipour and Kaluna, \{Heather M.\} and Alan Fitzsimmons and Larry Denneau and Bojan Novakovi{\'c} and Robert Jedicke and Wainscoat, \{Richard J.\} and Armstrong, \{James D.\} and Duddy, \{Samuel R.\} and Lowry, \{Stephen C.\} and Trujillo, \{Chadwick A.\} and Marco Micheli and Keane, \{Jacqueline V.\} and Laurie Urban and Timm Riesen and Meech, \{Karen J.\} and Shinsuke Abe and Yu-Chi Cheng and Wen-Ping Chen and Mikael Granvik and Tommy Grav and Wing-Huen Ip and Daisuke Kinoshita and Jan Kleyna and Pedro Lacerda and Tim Lister and Andrea Milani and Tholen, \{David J.\} and Peter Vere{\v s} and Lisse, \{Carey M.\} and Kelley, \{Michael S.\} and Fernandez, \{Yanga R.\} and Bhatt, \{Bhuwan C.\} and Sahu, \{Devendra K.\} and Nick Kaiser and Chambers, \{K. C.\} and Hodapp, \{Klaus W.\} and Magnier, \{Eugene A.\} and Price, \{Paul A.\} and Tonry, \{John L.\}",

note = "H.H.H. is supported by NASA through Hubble Fellowship Grant HF-51274.01 awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) for NASA, under contract NAS 5-26555. B.Y., N.H., H.M.K., and K.J.M. acknowledge support through the NASA Astrobiology Institute under Cooperative Agreement NNA08DA77A. B.N. is supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Serbia (Project 176011). A.F. is supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (Grant ST/F002270/1). M.S.K. is supported by NASA Planetary Astronomy Grant NNX09AF10G. PS1 is operated by the PS1 Science Consortium and its member institutions, and also funded by NASA Grant NNX08AR22G issued through the NASA Science Mission Directorate's Planetary Science Division. Gemini is operated by AURA under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the Gemini partnership. The WHT is operated by the Isaac Newton Group in the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrof{\'i}sica de Canarias. The Faulkes Telescopes are operated by Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. SDSS-III (http://www.sdss3.org/) is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, NSF, and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, and managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium for the SDSS-III Collaboration.",

year = "2012",

month = mar,

day = "20",

doi = "10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L15",

language = "English",

volume = "748",

journal = "The Astrophysical Journal Letters",

issn = "2041-8213",

publisher = "American Astronomical Society",

number = "1",

}

Hsieh, HH, Yang, B, Haghighipour, N, Kaluna, HM, Fitzsimmons, A, Denneau, L, Novaković, B, Jedicke, R, Wainscoat, RJ, Armstrong, JD, Duddy, SR, Lowry, SC, Trujillo, CA, Micheli, M, Keane, JV, Urban, L, Riesen, T, Meech, KJ, Abe, S, Cheng, Y-C, Chen, W-P, Granvik, M, Grav, T, Ip, W-H, Kinoshita, D, Kleyna, J, Lacerda, P, Lister, T, Milani, A, Tholen, DJ, Vereš, P, Lisse, CM, Kelley, MS, Fernandez, YR, Bhatt, BC, Sahu, DK, Kaiser, N, Chambers, KC, Hodapp, KW, Magnier, EA, Price, PA & Tonry, JL 2012, 'Discovery of Main-Belt Comet P/2006 VW₁₃₉ by Pan-STARRS 1', The Astrophysical Journal Letters, vol. 748, no. 1, L15. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L15

TY - JOUR

T1 - Discovery of Main-Belt Comet P/2006 VW139 by Pan-STARRS 1

AU - Hsieh, Henry H.

AU - Yang, Bin

AU - Haghighipour, Nader

AU - Kaluna, Heather M.

AU - Fitzsimmons, Alan

AU - Denneau, Larry

AU - Novaković, Bojan

AU - Jedicke, Robert

AU - Wainscoat, Richard J.

AU - Armstrong, James D.

AU - Duddy, Samuel R.

AU - Lowry, Stephen C.

AU - Trujillo, Chadwick A.

AU - Micheli, Marco

AU - Keane, Jacqueline V.

AU - Urban, Laurie

AU - Riesen, Timm

AU - Meech, Karen J.

AU - Abe, Shinsuke

AU - Cheng, Yu-Chi

AU - Chen, Wen-Ping

AU - Granvik, Mikael

AU - Grav, Tommy

AU - Ip, Wing-Huen

AU - Kinoshita, Daisuke

AU - Kleyna, Jan

AU - Lacerda, Pedro

AU - Lister, Tim

AU - Milani, Andrea

AU - Tholen, David J.

AU - Vereš, Peter

AU - Lisse, Carey M.

AU - Kelley, Michael S.

AU - Fernandez, Yanga R.

AU - Bhatt, Bhuwan C.

AU - Sahu, Devendra K.

AU - Kaiser, Nick

AU - Chambers, K. C.

AU - Hodapp, Klaus W.

AU - Magnier, Eugene A.

AU - Price, Paul A.

AU - Tonry, John L.

N1 - H.H.H. is supported by NASA through Hubble Fellowship Grant HF-51274.01 awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) for NASA, under contract NAS 5-26555. B.Y., N.H., H.M.K., and K.J.M. acknowledge support through the NASA Astrobiology Institute under Cooperative Agreement NNA08DA77A. B.N. is supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Serbia (Project 176011). A.F. is supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (Grant ST/F002270/1). M.S.K. is supported by NASA Planetary Astronomy Grant NNX09AF10G. PS1 is operated by the PS1 Science Consortium and its member institutions, and also funded by NASA Grant NNX08AR22G issued through the NASA Science Mission Directorate's Planetary Science Division. Gemini is operated by AURA under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) on behalf of the Gemini partnership. The WHT is operated by the Isaac Newton Group in the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias. The Faulkes Telescopes are operated by Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network. SDSS-III (http://www.sdss3.org/) is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, NSF, and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, and managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium for the SDSS-III Collaboration.

PY - 2012/3/20

Y1 - 2012/3/20

N2 - The main-belt asteroid (300163) 2006 VW139 (later designated P/2006 VW139) was discovered to exhibit comet-like activity by the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) survey telescope using automated point-spread-function analyses performed by PS1's Moving Object Processing System. Deep follow-up observations show both a short (~10'') antisolar dust tail and a longer (~60'') dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane, similar to the morphology observed for another main-belt comet (MBC), P/2010 R2 (La Sagra), and other well-established comets, implying the action of a long-lived, sublimation-driven emission event. Photometry showing the brightness of the near-nucleus coma remaining constant over ~30 days provides further evidence for this object's cometary nature, suggesting it is in fact an MBC, and not a disrupted asteroid. A spectroscopic search for CN emission was unsuccessful, though we find an upper limit CN production rate of Q CN 100 Myr, while a search for a potential asteroid family around the object reveals a cluster of 24 asteroids within a cutoff distance of 68 m s-1. At 70 m s-1, this cluster merges with the Themis family, suggesting that it could be similar to the Beagle family to which another MBC, 133P/Elst-Pizarro, belongs.

AB - The main-belt asteroid (300163) 2006 VW139 (later designated P/2006 VW139) was discovered to exhibit comet-like activity by the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) survey telescope using automated point-spread-function analyses performed by PS1's Moving Object Processing System. Deep follow-up observations show both a short (~10'') antisolar dust tail and a longer (~60'') dust trail aligned with the object's orbit plane, similar to the morphology observed for another main-belt comet (MBC), P/2010 R2 (La Sagra), and other well-established comets, implying the action of a long-lived, sublimation-driven emission event. Photometry showing the brightness of the near-nucleus coma remaining constant over ~30 days provides further evidence for this object's cometary nature, suggesting it is in fact an MBC, and not a disrupted asteroid. A spectroscopic search for CN emission was unsuccessful, though we find an upper limit CN production rate of Q CN 100 Myr, while a search for a potential asteroid family around the object reveals a cluster of 24 asteroids within a cutoff distance of 68 m s-1. At 70 m s-1, this cluster merges with the Themis family, suggesting that it could be similar to the Beagle family to which another MBC, 133P/Elst-Pizarro, belongs.

U2 - 10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L15

DO - 10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L15

M3 - Article

SN - 2041-8213

VL - 748

JO - The Astrophysical Journal Letters

JF - The Astrophysical Journal Letters

IS - 1

M1 - L15

ER -