Water-ice driven activity on Main-Belt Comet P/2010 A2 (LINEAR) ?

TL;DR

This study suggests that water-ice sublimation caused sustained activity in Main-Belt Comet P/2010 A2 (LINEAR), leading to dust ejection over eight months, with implications for understanding cometary activity in the asteroid belt.

Contribution

The paper provides evidence for water-ice driven activity in a main-belt comet, using dust tail modeling to estimate dust release and activity duration.

Findings

Water-ice sublimation likely caused sustained activity.

Estimated dust release of 5E7 kg, about 0.3% of nucleus mass.

Activity lasted approximately eight months.

Abstract

The dust ejecta of Main-Belt Comet P/2010 A2 (LINEAR) have been observed with several telescopes at the at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on La Palma, Spain. Application of an inverse dust tail Monte Carlo method to the images of the dust ejecta from the object indicates that a sustained, likely water-ice driven, activity over some eight months is the mechanism responsible for the formation of the observed tail. The total amount of dust released is estimated to be 5E7 kg, which represents about 0.3% of the nucleus mass. While the event could have been triggered by a collision, this cannot be decided from the currently available data.