Publications (16)
NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Observations of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1)
Colin Orion Chandler, Pedro H. Bernardinelli, Mario JuriÄ +305
We report on the observation and measurement of astrometry, photometry, morphology, and activityof the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, also designated C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) with the NSF-…
The Peculiar Volatile Composition of CO-Dominated Comet C/2016 R2 (PanSTARRS)
Adam McKay, Michael DiSanti, Michael Kelley +14
Comet C/2016 R2 (PanSTARRS) has a peculiar volatile composition, with CO being the dominant volatile as opposed to HO and one of the largest N/CO ratios ever observed in a…
P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS): An Active Centaur in Imminent Transition to the Jupiter Family
Jordan Steckloff, Gal Sarid, Kathryn Volk +5
The recently discovered object P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) was initially thought to be a Jupiter Trojan asteroid, until dynamical studies and the appearance of persistent cometary activity…
C/2016 R2 (PANSTARRS): A comet rich in CO and depleted in HCN
Kacper Wierzchos, Maria Womack
We observed comet C/2016 R2 (PANSTARRS) with the ARO 10-m SMT, and report the first detection of CO emission from this comet with amounts high enough to be the primary driver of ac…
CO in distantly active comets
Maria Womack, Gal Sarid, Kacper Wierzchos
Activity of most comets near the Sun is dominated by sublimation of frozen water, the most abundant ice in comets. Some comets, however, are active well beyond the water-ice sublim…
A Survey of CO, CO2, and H2O in Comets and Centaurs
Olga Harrington Pinto, Maria Womack, Yanga R. Fernandez +1
CO and CO are the two dominant carbon-bearing molecules in comae and have major roles in driving activity. Their relative abundances also provide strong observational constrain…
Carbon monoxide in the distantly active Centaur (60558) 174P/Echeclus at 6 AU
Kacper Wierzchos, Maria Womack, Gal Sarid
(60558) 174P/Echeclus is an unusual object that belongs to a class of minor planets called Centaurs, which may be intermediate between Kuiper Belt Objects and Jupiter Family comets…
Impact Rates in the Outer Solar System
David Nesvorny, Luke Dones, Mario De Pra +2
Previous studies of cometary impacts in the outer Solar System used the spatial distribution of ecliptic comets (ECs) from dynamical models that assumed ECs began on low-inclinatio…
Characterization of Thermal Infrared Dust Emission and Refinements to the Nucleus Properties of Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
Charles A. Schambeau, Yanga R. Fernandez, Nalin H. Samarasinha +4
We present analyses of Spitzer observations of 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 using 16 m IRS "blue" peak-up (PU) and 24 m and 70 m MIPS images obtained on UT 2003 November…
CO gas and dust outbursts from Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann
Kacper Wierzchos, Maria Womack
29P/Schwassmann Wachmann is an unusual solar system object. Originally classified as a short-period comet, it is now known as a Centaur that recently transferred to its current orb…
29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, A Centaur in the Gateway to the Jupiter-Family Comets
Gal Sarid, Kathryn Volk, Jordan Steckloff +3
Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) are the evolutionary products of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) that evolve through the giant planet region as Centaurs and into the inner solar system…
The Distribution, Excitation and Formation of Cometary Molecules: Methanol, Methyl Cyanide and Ethylene Glycol
Anthony J. Remijan, Stefanie N. Milam, Maria Womack +12
We present an interferometric and single dish study of small organic species toward Comets C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) and C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) using the BIMA interferometer at 3 mm and th…
The Transition from the Kuiper Belt to the Jupiter-Family (Comets)
Wesley C. Fraser, Luke Dones, Kathryn Volk +2
Kuiper Belt Objects, or more generally Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), are planetesimals found beyond the orbit of Neptune. Some TNOs evolve onto Neptune-crossing orbits and become…
Strength In Diversity: Small Bodies as the Most Important Objects in Planetary Sciences
Laura M. Woodney, Andrew S. Rivkin, Walter Harris +9
Small bodies, the unaccreted leftovers of planetary formation, are often mistaken for the leftovers of planetary science in the sense that they are everything else after the planet…
JWST and Gemini Observations of the Active Centaur 450P/LONEOS: Nucleus and Coma Characterizations
Charles A. Schambeau, Michael S. P. Kelley, Maria Womack +16
Between 2019 and 2024, we used the Gemini-N and JWST observatories to conduct a detailed case study of the active Centaur 450P/LONEOS, whose orbit was significantly altered by a cl…
Formation of Planetesimals in the Outer Solar System
Anders Johansen, Michele T. Bannister, Luke Dones +4
The Solar System hosts the most studied and best understood major and minor planetary bodies - and the only extraterrestrial bodies to have been visited by spacecraft. The Solar Sy…