7968 Elst–Pizarro
7968 Elst–Pizarro in August 1996 by ESO. The narrow tail is visible.
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| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. R. S. Hawkins and R. H. McNaught[1] and/or S. J. Bus [2] (as 1979 OW7) as well as Eric W. Elst and Guido Pizarro (as 1996 N2) |
| Discovery date | 24 July 1979 (as 1979 OW7) [3] and 14 July 1996 (as 1996 N2) |
| Designations | |
| P/1996 N2, 1979 OW7 | |
| Minor planet category | Main-belt comet[4][5] Main-belt asteroid[6] Themis/Beagle family[4] |
| Orbital characteristics[6] | |
| Epoch 2012-Sep-30 (JD 2456200.5) T_jup = 3.184 |
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| Aphelion | 3.67196 AU (Q) (549.45 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 2.6499 AU (q) (395.86 Gm) |
| 3.1609 AU (a) (472.66 Gm) |
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| Eccentricity | 0.16167 |
| 5.62 yr (2052.69 d) |
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Average orbital speed
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16.64 km/s |
| 336.84° | |
| Inclination | 1.3868° |
| 160.15° | |
| 132.18° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.8±0.6 km (Spitzer)[7] |
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Mean density
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1.3(?) g/cm³[8] |
| 3.471 hr (0.1446 d)[6] |
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| Albedo | 0.05±0.02R[7] |
| Temperature | 160K[8] |
| 17.24 to 20.71 | |
| 14.0[6] 15.3R (2004)[8] 15.49R (2010)[9] |
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Comet Elst–Pizarro is a body that displays characteristics of both asteroids and comets,[10] and is the prototype of main-belt comets. Its orbit keeps it within the asteroid belt, yet it displayed a dust tail like a comet while near perihelion in 1996, 2001, and 2007.
- As a comet it is formally designated 133P/Elst–Pizarro.
- As an asteroid it is designated 7968 Elst–Pizarro.
Elst–Pizarro was reported in 1979 as minor planet 1979 OW7, with its image on a photographic plate being completely stellar in appearance. Its orbit remains entirely within the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, with eccentricity 0.165, typical of a minor planet in the asteroid belt. However, the images taken by Eric W. Elst and Guido Pizarro in 1996, when it was near perihelion, clearly show a cometary tail. Since this is not normal behaviour for asteroids, it is suspected that Elst–Pizarro has a different, probably icy, composition. The cometary nature of Elst–Pizarro was first discovered on 1996 August 7 when a linear dust feature was observed.[8]
Subsequently, around the next perihelion in November 2001, the cometary activity appeared again, and persisted for 5 months.[8]
At present, there are only four other objects that are cross-listed as both comets and asteroids: 2060 Chiron (95P/Chiron), 4015 Wilson-Harrington (107P/Wilson-Harrington), 60558 Echeclus (174P/Echeclus), and 118401 LINEAR (176P/LINEAR, previously 1999 RE70).[11] As a dual status object, astrometric observations of 7968 Elst–Pizarro should be reported under the minor planet designation.[11]
It most recently came to perihelion on 8 February 2013.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "MPEC 1996-R07".
- ^ IAUC 6473
- ^ IAUC 6457
- ^ a b Henry H. Hsieh (May 2010). "Main Belt Comets". Hawaii. Retrieved 2010-12-15. (older 2010 site)
- ^ David Jewitt. "Main Belt Comets". UCLA, Department of Earth and Space Sciences. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
- ^ a b c d e "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 7968 Elst–Pizarro (1996 N2)" (2012-06-06 last obs). Retrieved 2012-08-08. Archived from the original on 2012-08-08
- ^ a b Hsieh, Henry H.; Jewitt, David C.;Fernández, Yanga R. (2009). "Albedos of Main-Belt Comets 133P/Elst–Pizarro and 176P/LINEAR". The Astrophysical Journal Letters 694 (2): L111–L114. arXiv:0902.3682. Bibcode:2009ApJ...694L.111H. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/694/2/L111. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ a b c d e Hsieh, Henry H.; Jewitt, David C.;Fernández, Yanga R. (2004). "The Strange Case of 133P/Elst–Pizzarro: A Comet Among the Asteroids". The Astronomical Journal 127 (5): 2997–3017. Bibcode:2004AJ....127.2997H. doi:10.1086/383208. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ Hsieh, Henry H.; Jewitt, David C.;Lacerda, Pedro; Lowry, Stephen C.; Snodgrass, Colin (2010). "The return of activity in main-belt comet 133P/Elst–Pizarro". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 403 (1): 363–377. arXiv:0911.5522. Bibcode:2010MNRAS.403..363H. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.16120.x. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ^ Main-Belt Comets May Have Been Source Of Earths Water, Space Daily, Mar 23, (2006).
- ^ a b "Dual-Status Objects". Minor Planet Center. 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
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| Periodic comets (by number) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous 132P/Helin-Roman-Alu |
7968 Elst–Pizarro | Next 134P/Kowal-Vávrová |
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