Publications (31)
Photometry of the Didymos system across the DART impact apparition
Nicholas Moskovitz, Cristina Thomas, Petr Pravec +78
On 26 September 2022, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft impacted Dimorphos, the satellite of binary near-Earth asteroid (65803) Didymos. This demonstrated the…
Analysing the Onset of Cometary Activity by the Jupiter-Family Comet 2023 RN3
Matthew M. Dobson, Megan E. Schwamb, Alan Fitzsimmons +17
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 obser…
Distant activity of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014: Ground-based results during the Rosetta pre-landing phase
Colin Snodgrass, Emmanuel Jehin, Jean Manfroid +14
As the ESA Rosetta mission approached, orbited, and sent a lander to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014, a large campaign of ground-based observations also followed the comet.…
PTF/M-dwarfs: A Large New M-dwarf Planetary Transit Survey
Nicholas M. Law, Adam L. Kraus, Rachel R. Street +3
PTF/M-dwarfs is a 100,000-target M-dwarf planetary transit survey, a Key Project of the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) collaboration. The survey is sensitive to Jupiter-radius pla…
A LOOK at Outbursts of Comet C/2014 UN (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) Near 20 au
Michael S. P. Kelley, Rosita Kokotanekova, Carrie E. Holt +10
Cometary activity may be driven by ices with very low sublimation temperatures, such as carbon monoxide ice, which can sublimate at distances well beyond 20 au. This point is empha…
Astrometric follow-up of near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 during a Torino scale level 3 alert
Marco Micheli, Maxime Devogèle, Larry Denneau +38
The discovery of 2024 YR4 presented the planetary defense community with the most significant impact threat in almost two decades, reaching level 3 on the Torino scale. The communi…
The Pan-STARRS Moving Object Processing System
Larry Denneau, Robert Jedicke, Tommy Grav +41
We describe the Pan-STARRS Moving Object Processing System (MOPS), a modern software package that produces automatic asteroid discoveries and identifications from catalogs of trans…
Ejecta Evolution Following a Planned Impact into an Asteroid: The First Five Weeks
Theodore Kareta, Cristina Thomas, Jian-Yang Li +85
The impact of the DART spacecraft into Dimorphos, moon of the asteroid Didymos, changed Dimorphos' orbit substantially, largely from the ejection of material. We present results fr…
A Look at Eight Outbursts of Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke
Ky Huynh, Michael S. P. Kelley, Jessica M. Sunshine +6
Cometary outbursts may be used as a means to infer the physical processes occurring on cometary nuclei. To that end, we studied eight outbursts of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke identified…
Observational Investigation of the 2013 Near-Earth Encounter by Asteroid (367943) Duende
Nicholas Moskovitz, Conor Benson, Daniel Scheeres +20
On 15 February 2013, the asteroid 367943 Duende (2012 DA14) experienced a near-Earth encounter at an altitude of 27,700 km or 4.2 Earth radii. We present here the results of an ext…
First Detection of Molecular Activity in the Largest Known Oort Cloud Comet: ALMA Imaging of C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) at 16.6 au from the Sun
Nathan X. Roth, Stefanie N. Milam, Martin A. Cordiner +12
We report observations of comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) carried out on UT 2024 March 8 and 17 at a heliocentric distance () of 16.6 au using the Atac…
Kuiper Belt Occultation Predictions
Wesley C. Fraser, Stephen Gwyn, Chad Trujillo +13
Here we present observations of 7 large Kuiper Belt Objects. From these observations, we extract a point source catalog with precision, and astrometry of our target Kui…
Discovery of Main-Belt Comet P/2006 VW139 by Pan-STARRS1
Henry H. Hsieh, Bin Yang, Nader Haghighipour +39
Main belt asteroid (300163) 2006 VW139 (later designated P/2006 VW139) was discovered to exhibit comet-like activity by the Pan-STARRS1 survey telescope using automated point-sprea…
Splitting of Long-Period Comet C/2018 F4 (PANSTARRS)
Man-To Hui, Michael S. P. Kelley, Denise Hung +4
Long-period comet C/2018 F4 (PANSTARRS) was observed to show duplicity of its inner region in 2020 September, suggestive of a splitting event. We here present analyses of our obser…
Multi-year Ground-Based Survey Photometry of Active Comet 103P/Hartley 2 and Centaur (2060) Chiron: A Tale of Two Comets in the Pre-LSST Era
Joseph Murtagh, Megan E. Schwamb, Michael S. P. Kelley +22
Comets and Centaurs trace the evolution of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) into the inner solar system. Their activity reflects the interplay between volatile sublimation, dust dyna…
Gemini and Lowell Observations of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko During the Rosetta Mission
Matthew M. Knight, Colin Snodgrass, Jean-Baptiste Vincent +4
We present observations of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko acquired in support of the mission. We obtained usable data on 68 nights from 2014 September until 2016 May, wi…
Tuning the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Observing Strategy for Solar System Science
Megan E. Schwamb, R. Lynne Jones, Peter Yoachim +27
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is expected to start the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) in early to mid-2025. This multi-band wide-field synoptic survey will transform our vi…
Three New Eclipsing White-dwarf - M-dwarf Binaries Discovered in a Search for Transiting Planets Around M-dwarfs
Nicholas M. Law, Adam L. Kraus, Rachel Street +24
We present three new eclipsing white-dwarf / M-dwarf binary systems discovered during a search for transiting planets around M-dwarfs. Unlike most known eclipsing systems of this t…
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-…
Discovery and Preliminary Characterization of a Third Interstellar Object: 3I/ATLAS
Darryl Z. Seligman, Marco Micheli, Davide Farnocchia +44
We report initial observations aimed at the characterization of a third interstellar object. This object, 3I/ATLAS or C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), was discovered on 2025 July 1 UT and has an…
The Discovery and Evolution of a Possible New Epoch of Cometary Activity by the Centaur (2060) Chiron
Matthew M. Dobson, Megan E. Schwamb, Alan Fitzsimmons +24
Centaurs are small Solar System objects on chaotic orbits in the giant planet region, forming an evolutionary continuum with the Kuiper belt objects and Jupiter-family comets. Some…
A Large Outburst, Coma Asymmetries, and the Color of Comet 243P/NEAT
Michael S. P. Kelley, Silvia Protopapa, Dennis Bodewits +16
Water ice is a fundamental building material of comets and other bodies in the outer solar system. Yet, the properties of cometary water ice are challenging to study, due to its vo…
Rubin ToO 2024: Envisioning the Vera C. Rubin Observatory LSST Target of Opportunity program
Igor Andreoni, Raffaella Margutti, John Banovetz +86
The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) at Vera C. Rubin Observatory is planned to begin in the Fall of 2025. The LSST survey cadence has been designed via a community-driven pr…
Disintegration of Long-Period Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS): I. Hubble Space Telescope Observations
Quanzhi Ye, David Jewitt, Man-To Hui +8
Near-Sun Comet C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) is the first member of a long-period comet group observed to disintegrate well before perihelion. Here we present our investigation into this disin…
The perihelion activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as seen by robotic telescopes
Colin Snodgrass, Cyrielle Opitom, Miguel de Val-Borro +13
Around the time of its perihelion passage the observability of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Earth was limited to very short windows each morning from any given site, due to the l…
Coma composition and profiles of comet 12P/Pons-Brooks using long-slit spectroscopy
Lea Ferellec, Cyrielle Opitom, Abbie Donaldson +4
Comet 12P/Pons-Brook exhibited multiple large and minor outbursts in 2023 on its way to its 2024 perihelion, as it has done during its previous apparitions. We obtained long-slit o…
Ejecta from the DART-produced active asteroid Dimorphos
Jian-Yang Li, Masatoshi Hirabayashi, Tony L. Farnham +61
Some active asteroids have been proposed to be the result of impact events. Because active asteroids are generally discovered serendipitously only after their tail formation, the p…
The Unusual Apparition of Comet 252P/2000 G1 (LINEAR) and Comparison with Comet P/2016 BA14 (PanSTARRS)
Jian-Yang Li, Michael S. P. Kelley, Nalin H. Samarasinha +7
We imaged Comet 252P/2000 G1 (LINEAR) (hereafter 252P) with the Hubble Space Telescope and both 252P and P/2016 BA (PanSTARRS) (hereafter BA) with the Discovery Chann…
The LCO Outbursting Objects Key Project: Overview and Year 1 Status
Tim Lister, Michael S. P. Kelley, Carrie E. Holt +32
The LCO Outbursting Objects Key (LOOK) Project uses the telescopes of the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) Network to: (1) to systematically monitor a sample of Dynamically New Comets…
The Outer Solar System Origins Survey: I. Design and First-Quarter Discoveries
Michele T. Bannister, J. J. Kavelaars, Jean-Marc Petit +36
We report the discovery, tracking and detection circumstances for 85 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the first 42 deg of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS). Th…
WASP-23b: a transiting hot Jupiter around a K dwarf and its Rossiter-McLaughlin effect
Amaury H. M. J. Triaud, Didier Queloz, Coel Hellier +17
We report the discovery of a new transiting planet in the Southern Hemisphere. It has been found by the WASP-south transit survey and confirmed photometrically and spectroscopicall…