Authors

J. M. Bauer; A. K. Mainzer; T. Grav; R. G. Walker; J. R. Masiero; E. K. Blauvelt; R. S. McMillan; Y. R. Fernandez; K. J. Meech; C. M. Lisse; R. M. Cutri; J. W. Dailey; D. J. Tholen; T. Riesen; L. Urban; A. Khayat; G. Pearman; J. V. Scotti; E. Kramer; D. Cherry; T. Gautier; S. Gomillion; J. Watkins; E. L. Wright;Wise Team

Comments

Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

Abbreviated Journal Title

Astrophys. J.

Keywords

comets: general; minor planets, asteroids: general; ASTEROID P/2010 A2; THERMAL-MODEL CALIBRATION; INFRARED-SURVEY-EXPLORER; NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS; 596 SCHEILA; PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES; DEEP-IMPACT; COMETS; DUST; 133P/ELST-PIZARRO; Astronomy & Astrophysics

Abstract

We report results based on mid-infrared photometry of five active main belt objects (AMBOs) detected by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. Four of these bodies, P/2010 R2 (La Sagra), 133P/Elst-Pizarro, (596) Scheila, and 176P/LINEAR, showed no signs of activity at the time of the observations, allowing the WISE detections to place firm constraints on their diameters and albedos. Geometric albedos were in the range of a few percent, and on the order of other measured comet nuclei. P/2010 A2 was observed on 2010 April 2-3, three months after its peak activity. Photometry of the coma at 12 and 22 mu m combined with ground-based visible-wavelength measurements provides constraints on the dust particle mass distribution (PMD), dlog n/dlog m, yielding power-law slope values of alpha = -0.5 +/- 0.1. This PMD is considerably more shallow than that found for other comets, in particular inbound particle fluence during the Stardust encounter of comet 81P/Wild 2. It is similar to the PMD seen for 9P/Tempel 1 in the immediate aftermath of the Deep Impact experiment. Upper limits for CO2 and CO production are also provided for each AMBO and compared with revised production numbers for WISE observations of 103P/Hartley 2.

Journal Title

Astrophysical Journal

Volume

747

Issue/Number

1

Publication Date

1-1-2012

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

9

WOS Identifier

WOS:000300627300049

ISSN

0004-637X

Download

Share

COinS