The Transient Jupiter Trojan-Like Orbit of P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS)

Abstract

Comet P/2019 LD2 has orbital elements currently resembling those of a Jupiter Trojan, and therefore superficially appears to represent a unique opportunity to study the volatile content and active behavior of a member of this population for the first time. However, numerical integrations show that it was previously a Centaur before reaching its current Jupiter Trojan-like orbit in 2018 July, and is expected to return to being a Centaur in 2028 February, before eventually becoming a Jupiter-family comet in 2063 February. The case of P/2019 LD2 highlights the need for mechanisms to quickly and reliably dynamically classify small solar system bodies discovered in current and upcoming wide-field surveys.

arXiv comment7 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Icarus

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• Initial Characterization of Active Transitioning Centaur, P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS), using Hubble, Spitzer, ZTF, Keck, APO and GROWTH Visible & Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy
• P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS): An Active Centaur in Imminent Transition to the Jupiter Family
• The gateway from Centaurs to Jupiter-family Comets: thermal and dynamical evolution
• Astrocladistics of the Jovian Trojan Swarms
• Some physical properties of a new Jupiter-family comet P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) from broadband observations
• Activity of the Jupiter co-orbital comet P/2019~LD${}_2$ (ATLAS) observed with OSIRIS at the 10.4 m GTC
• Apsidal asymmetric-alignment of Jupiter Trojans
• Surface Properties of Near-Sun Asteroids