Comet P/2010 TO20 LINEAR-Grauer as a Mini-29P/SW1

TL;DR

This study characterizes comet P/2010 TO20 LINEAR-Grauer as a small, active Jupiter-family comet with a short-lived unstable orbit, likely recently migrated from a Centaur-like orbit, sharing similarities with comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1.

Contribution

It provides detailed observational data and numerical simulations revealing the physical properties and orbital instability of LG, a comet previously misclassified as a Jupiter Trojan.

Findings

LG has a small nucleus (<3 km radius) with typical JFC colours.

Mass-loss rate is close to 100 kg/s, likely driven by water-ice sublimation.

Orbit is unstable on 10-100 year timescales, indicating recent migration from a Centaur orbit.

Abstract

Discovered in October 2010 by the LINEAR survey, P/2010 TO20 LINEAR-Grauer (LG) was initially classified as an inert Jupiter Trojan. Subsequent observations obtained in October 2011 revealed LG to be a Jupiter-family comet. LG has one of the largest perihelia (q=5.1 AU) and lowest eccentricities (e=0.09) of the known JFCs. We report on observations of LG taken on 29 October 2011 and numerical simulations of its orbital evolution. Analysis of our data reveals that LG has a small nucleus (<3 km in radius) with broadband colours (B-R=0.99+/-0.06 mag, V-R=0.47+/-0.06 mag) typical of JFCs. We find a model dependent mass-loss rate close to 100 kg/s, most likely powered by water-ice sublimation. Our numerical simulation indicate that the orbit of LG is unstable on very short (10 to 100 yr) timescales and suggest this object has recently evolved into its current location from a more distant, Centaur-type orbit. The orbit, dynamics and activity of LG share similarities with the well known case of comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1.