The Reactivation of Main-Belt Comet 324P/La Sagra (P/2010 R2)
Henry H. Hsieh, Scott S. Sheppard

TL;DR
This paper reports the first reactivation of main-belt comet 324P/La Sagra, confirming recurrent activity driven by sublimation, with detailed observations of dust emission and activity range.
Contribution
It provides the first evidence of recurrent activity in 324P/La Sagra, establishing it as the fourth main-belt comet with confirmed sublimation-driven activity.
Findings
324P/La Sagra reactivated in 2015 after initial activity in 2010-2011.
Confirmed activity through dust tail observations and brightness analysis.
Largest active range and most distant inbound activation point among main-belt comets.
Abstract
We present observations using the Baade Magellan and Canada-France-Hawaii telescopes showing that main-belt comet 324P/La Sagra, formerly known as P/2010 R2, has become active again for the first time since originally observed to be active in 2010-2011. The object appears point-source-like in March and April 2015 as it approached perihelion (true anomaly of ~300 deg), but was ~1 mag brighter than expected if inactive, suggesting the presence of unresolved dust emission. Activity was confirmed by observations of a cometary dust tail in May and June 2015. We find an apparent net dust production rate of <0.1 kg/s during these observations. 324P is now the fourth main-belt comet confirmed to be recurrently active, a strong indication that its activity is driven by sublimation. It now has the largest confirmed active range of all likely main-belt comets, and also the most distant confirmed…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstro and Planetary Science · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Astronomical and nuclear sciences
