Analysing the Onset of Cometary Activity by the Jupiter-Family Comet 2023 RN3
Matthew M. Dobson, Megan E. Schwamb, Alan Fitzsimmons, Michael S. P., Kelley, Carrie E. Holt, Joseph Murtagh, Henry H. Hsieh, Larry Denneau,, Nicolas Erasmus, A. N. Heinze, Luke J. Shingles, Robert J. Siverd, Ken W., Smith, John L. Tonry, Henry Weiland, David. R. Young

TL;DR
This study documents the first observed cometary activity of Jupiter-family comet C/2023 RN3, using multi-instrument observations over 7 months, revealing sustained activity, a coma, and orbital changes potentially linked to planetary encounters.
Contribution
It provides the first detailed analysis of C/2023 RN3's activity onset, combining observational data and orbital simulations to understand its behavior and possible triggers.
Findings
Detected sustained cometary activity starting August 2023
Observed a spatially-extended coma indicating active dust emission
Orbital analysis suggests recent planetary encounter may influence activity
Abstract
We utilize serendipitous observations from the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) and the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) in addition to targeted follow-up observations from the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) and Liverpool Telescope to analyze the first observed instance of cometary activity by the newly-discovered Jupiter-family comet C/2023 RN3 (ATLAS), whose orbital dynamics place it close to residing on a Centaur-like orbit. Across our 7-month baseline, we observe an epoch of cometary activity commencing in August 2023 with an increase in brightness of >5.4 mag. The lightcurve of 2023 RN3 indicates the presence of continuous cometary activity across our observations, suggesting the onset of a new period of sustained activity. We find no evidence of any outbursts on top of the observed brightening, nor do we find any significant color evolution across our…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstro and Planetary Science · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure
