Component properties and mutual orbit of binary main-belt comet 288P/(300163) 2006 VW139
Affiliation
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of ArizonaIssue Date
2020-11-19
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EDP SciencesCitation
Agarwal, J., Kim, Y., Jewitt, D., Mutchler, M., Weaver, H., & Larson, S. (2020). Component properties and mutual orbit of binary main-belt comet 288P/(300163) 2006 VW139. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 643, A152.Journal
Astronomy and AstrophysicsRights
© J. Agarwal et al. 2020. Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
The binary asteroid 288P/(300163) is unusual both for its combination of wide-separation and high mass ratio and for its comet-like activity. It is not currently known whether there is a causal connection between the activity and the unusual orbit or if instead the activity helped to overcome a strong detection bias against such sub-arcsecond systems. Aims. We aim to find observational constraints discriminating between possible formation scenarios and to characterise the physical properties of the system components. Methods. We measured the component separation and brightness using point spread function fitting to high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 images from 25 epochs between 2011 and 2020.We constrained component sizes and shapes from the photometry, and we fitted a Keplerian orbit to the separation as a function of time. Results. Approximating the components A and B as prolate spheroids with semi-axis lengths a < b and assuming a geometric albedo of 0.07, we find aA 0.6 km, bA 1.4 km, aB 0.5 km, and bB 0.8 km.We find indications that the dust production may have concentrated around B and that the mutual orbital period may have changed by 1-2 days during the 2016 perihelion passage. Orbit solutions have semi-major axes in the range of (105-109) km, eccentricities between 0.41 and 0.51, and periods of (117.3-117.5) days preperihelion and (118.5-119.5) days post-perihelion, corresponding to system masses in the range of (6.67-7.23) 1012 kg. The mutual and heliocentric orbit planes are roughly aligned. Conclusions. Based on the orbit alignment, we infer that spin-up of the precursor by the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect led to the formation of the binary system. We disfavour (but cannot exclude) a scenario of very recent formation where activity was directly triggered by the break-up, because our data support a scenario with a single active component. © J. Agarwal et al. 2020.Note
Open access articleISSN
0004-6361EISSN
1432-0746Version
Final published versionSponsors
H2020 European Research Councilae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1051/0004-6361/202038195
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © J. Agarwal et al. 2020. Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).