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.

7 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Icarus

References in corpus (8)

• The Active Centaurs
• CO in distantly active comets
• The consequences of planetary migration on the minor bodies of the early Solar System
• The Trojan Color Conundrum
• Formation of Centaurs' rings through their partial tidal disruption during planetary encounters
• Quasi-Hilda Comet 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu: Another long temporary satellite capture by Jupiter
• Stability of Jovian Trojans and their collisional families
• Maximizing LSST Solar System Science: Approaches, Software Tools, and Infrastructure Needs

Cited by in corpus (7)

• Initial Characterization of Active Transitioning Centaur, P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS), using Hubble, Spitzer, ZTF, Keck, APO and GROWTH Visible & Infrared Imaging and Spectroscopy
• The gateway from Centaurs to Jupiter-family Comets: thermal and dynamical evolution
• Astrocladistics of the Jovian Trojan Swarms
• Apsidal asymmetric-alignment of Jupiter Trojans
• 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
• Surface Properties of Near-Sun Asteroids