354P/LINEAR#Orbit

Image:P 2010 A2 Orbit.gif

P/2010 A2 was discovered on 6 January 2010 by Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) using a {{convert|1|m|in|sp=us|adj=on}} reflecting telescope with a CCD camera. It was LINEAR's 193rd comet discovery.Hergenrother, Carl W.; [http://transientsky.wordpress.com/2010/01/10/the-curious-case-of-comet-linear/ The Curious Case of Comet LINEAR], The Transient Sky, 10 January 2010 (1.8-m telescope on Kitt Peak)[http://comethunter.de/ Catalogue of Comet Discoveries], Comethunter.de 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.

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.{{Cite web

|title = Glossary of Astronomical Terms (Ice line)

|publisher = Glossary of Astronomical Terms

|url = http://www.deepfly.org/TheNeighborhood/Glossary.html

|access-date = 2010-01-20

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100214120720/http://www.deepfly.org/TheNeighborhood/Glossary.html

|archive-date = 2010-02-14

|url-status = dead

}} Beyond the frostline volatile ices are generally more common. Early observations did not detect water vapor or other gases.{{Cite web

|date=2010-02-02

|title=Suspected Asteroid Collision Leaves Trailing Debris

|publisher=NASA Release : 10-029

|first1=J. D.

|last1=Harrington

|first2=Ray

|last2=Villard

|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/feb/HQ_10-029_Hubble_asteroid.html

|access-date=2010-02-03

}} 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.{{Cite web

|title=P/2010 A2 (LINEAR): The 5th Main-Belt Comet

|publisher=UCLA (Department of Earth and Space Sciences)

|first=David C.

|last=Jewitt

|author-link=David C. Jewitt

|url=http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~jewitt/MBC5.html

|access-date=2010-01-20}} 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.{{Cite web

|date=23 July 2010

|title=Comet P/2010 A2, an Activated Asteroid from the Main Asteroid Belt

|publisher=Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes (ING)

|first=Javier

|last=Méndez

|url=http://www.ing.iac.es/PR/press/2010a2.html

|access-date=2010-07-27

}}'

The orbit of P/2010 A2 is consistent with membership in the Flora asteroid family, produced by collisional shattering more than 100 million years ago. The Flora family of asteroids may be the source of the Chicxulub (Cretaceous–Paleogene) impactor, the likely culprit in the extinction of the dinosaurs. One asteroid of the Flora family, {{mp|2010 AA|15}}, was initially suspected to have collided with P/2010 A2 due to their very similar orbits, but was later deemed a coincidence.{{cite web

|date = 2010-02-03

|title = {MPML} P/2010 A2, 2010 AA15 results of a collision? (probably no)

|work = Minor Planets Mailing List

|first = Bill J. |last = Gray

|url = https://groups.io/g/mpml/topic/42947499

|accessdate = 2010-02-03}}{{cite journal

|title = The Peculiar Object P/2010 A2 (LINEAR)

|first1 = Michael |last1 = Kelley

|first2 = William |last2 = Reach

|first3 = David |last3 = Trilling

|first4 = Jeremie |last4 = Vaubaillon

|first5 = Michael |last5 = Mueller

|first6 = Joshua |last6 = Emery

|journal = Spitzer Proposal

|issue = 544

|bibcode = 2010sptz.prop..544K

|date = March 2010}}

File:2010A2-2010Jan12-10UT.jpg

Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope{{cite journal | last1 = Jewitt | first1 = David C. | display-authors = 4 | last2 = Weaver | first2 = Harold | last3 = Agarwal | first3 = Jessica | last4 = Mutchler | first4 = Max | last5 = Drahus | first5 = Michal | title = A recent disruption of the main-belt asteroid P/2010?A2 | journal = Nature | volume = 467 | pages = 817–9 | date = 2010 | doi = 10.1038/nature09456|bibcode = 2010Natur.467..817J | issue=7317 | pmid = 20944743| s2cid = 205222567 }} and the narrow angle camera on board the Rosetta spacecraft{{cite journal | last1 = Snodgrass | first1 = Colin | last2 = Tubiana | first2 = Cecilia | last3 = Vincent | first3 = Jean-Baptiste | last4 = Sierks | first4 = Holger | last5 = Hviid | first5 = Stubbe | last6 = Moissl | first6 = Richard | last7 = Boehnhardt | first7 = Hermann | last8 = Barbieri | first8 = Cesare | last9 = Koschny | first9 = Detlef | last10 = Lamy | first10 = Philippe | last11 = Rickman | first11 = Hans | last12 = Rodrigo | first12 = Rafael | last13 = Carry | first13 = Benoît | last14 = Lowry | first14 = Stephen C. | last15 = Laird | first15 = Ryan J. M. | last16 = Weissman | first16 = Paul R. | last17 = Fitzsimmons | first17 = Alan | last18 = Marchi | first18 = Simone | last19 = a'Hearn | first19 = M. | last20 = Angrilli | first20 = F. | last21 = Barucci | first21 = A. | last22 = Bertaux | first22 = J.-L. | last23 = Cremonese | first23 = G. | last24 = Da Deppo | first24 = V. | last25 = Davidsson | first25 = B. | last26 = Debei | first26 = S. | last27 = De Cecco | first27 = M. | last28 = Fornasier | first28 = S. | last29 = Gutiérrez | first29 = P. | last30 = Ip | first30 = W.-H. | title = A collision in 2009 as the origin of the debris trail of asteroid P/2010?A2 | journal = Nature | volume = 467 | pages = 814–6 | date = 2010 | doi = 10.1038/nature09453 | pmid=20944742 | issue=7317| display-authors = 8 |arxiv = 1010.2883 |bibcode = 2010Natur.467..814S | s2cid = 4330570 }} 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.{{cite web

|date=13 October 2010

|title=Hubble Finds that a Bizarre X-Shaped Intruder Is Linked to an Unseen Asteroid Collision

|publisher=Hubblesite newscenter STScI-2010-34

|first1=J. D.

|last1=Harrington

|first2=Donna

|last2=Weaver

|first3=David C.

|last3=Jewitt

|url=http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2010/34/text/

|access-date=2010-10-15}}

P/2010 A2 is likely about {{convert|150|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} in diameter. Even when it was discovered it was suspected of being less than 500 meters in diameter.{{Cite web

|date=2010-01-18

|title=BAA Comet Section : Comets discovered in 2010

|publisher=Institute of Astronomy (British Astronomical Association)

|first=Jonathan

|last=Shanklin

|author-link=Jonathan Shanklin

|url=http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/coms10.htm#10A2

|access-date=2010-01-21}}

{{Clear}}

• 493 Griseldis
• 596 Scheila
• P/2016 G1 (PanSTARRS)

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite journal

|first1 = Yoonyoung |last1 = Kim

|first2 = Masateru |last2 = Ishiguro

|first3 = Myung Gyoon |last3 = Lee

|title = New Observational Evidence of Active Asteroid P/2010 A2: Slow Rotation of the Largest Fragment

|journal = The Astrophysical Journal Letters

|date = June 2017

|volume = 842

|issue = 2

|id = L23

|pages = 5

|doi-access = free

|doi = 10.3847/2041-8213/aa7944

|arxiv = 1706.03924

|bibcode = 2017ApJ...842L..23K}}

}}

• [http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=P/2010+A2;orb=1 Orbital simulation] from JPL (Java) / [http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=1&body_group=sb&sstr=P/2010+A2 Horizons Ephemeris]
• [http://astrosurf.com/nazaret/images/cometas/P2010A2/P2010A2-100108-J47.jpg Image of Comet P/2010 A2] (Muler 12" Meade LX200)
• [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/asteroid-20100202.html Suspected Asteroid Collision Leaves Odd X-Pattern of Trailing Debris] (Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 2010 January 29 image)
• Hubblesite [http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2010/34/video/b/ Videos] (January 29 through May 29)
• [http://www.wiyn.org/About/asteroidP2010A2.html NOAO/WIYN: New Camera at WIYN images an Asteroid with a Long Tail] (NOAO 13-07 : 3 June 2013)
• {{cite journal |arxiv=1301.2566|doi=10.1088/2041-8205/764/1/L5|bibcode=2013ApJ...764L...5J|title=Large Particles in Active Asteroid P/2010 A2|year=2013|last1=Jewitt|first1=David|last2=Ishiguro|first2=Masateru|last3=Agarwal|first3=Jessica|journal=The Astrophysical Journal|volume=764|issue=1|pages=L5|s2cid=37325835}}

{{Comets}}

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0354

Category:Small-asteroids collision

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20100106