NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2012A-0464
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2012A-0464 |
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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
Title: The Sublimation-Driven Nature of Main-Belt Comet Activity
Abstract:
We seek GMOS-S time to obtain target-of-opportunity spectroscopy of up to 2
bright newly-discovered main-belt comets (MBCs) to confirm the
sublimation-driven nature of their activity by detecting CN emission at 3889
Angstroms. As a recently-identified class of objects that exhibit comet-like
activity yet are dynamically indistinguishable from main-belt asteroids,
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 shown that MBC
activity is due to the sublimation of ice, though abundant indirect evidence
supports this conclusion. If observed promptly, newly discovered main-belt
comets that are sufficiently bright 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. In this proposal, we request NOAO time to observe up to two
MBCs from Gemini-South. A companion proposal has been submitted to UH and
Gemini to observe up to two MBCs from Gemini-North. This is a continuation of
a 2011B ToO proposal for which no observations have yet been made.
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 > 2012A-0464 |
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