NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2011A-0553
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2011A-0553 |
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PI: Henry Hsieh, University of Hawaii (IfA), hsieh@ifa.hawaii.edu
Address: Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
CoI: Bin Yang, University of Hawaii (IfA)
CoI: Chad Trujillo, Gemini Observatory - North
CoI: Jan Kleyna, University of Hawaii (IfA)
Title: The Sublimation-Driven Nature of Main-Belt Comet Activity
Abstract:
We seek GMOS-N and GMOS-S time to obtain target-of-opportunity spectroscopy
of bright newly-discovered main-belt comets (a recently-identified class of
objects that exhibit comet-like activity yet are dynamically
indistinguishable from main-belt asteroids) to confirm the sublimation-driven
nature of their activity by detecting CN emission at 3889 Angstroms. These
poorly understood objects blur the classical lines between asteroids and
comets, and may have played a significant role in the primordial delivery of
Earth's water. To date, it has never been unambiguously demonstrated that
main-belt comet activity is due to the sublimation of ice, as in other
"classical" comets, though abundant indirect evidence suggests their activity
can only be explained by sublimation. If observed promptly, newly discovered
main-belt comets that are sufficiently bright (compared to reference comet
9P/Tempel 1 for which CN emission has been successfully detected) and exhibit
substantial coma offer excellent opportunities to detect gas emission from a
main-belt object and provide the first unambiguous confirmation of
present-day volatile material in the main belt.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2011A-0553 |
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