9 papers
JWST Characterization of Earth Quasi-Satellite (469219) Kamo`oalewa
Benjamin N. L Sharkey, Vishnu Reddy, John W. Noonan +5
Near-Earth asteroid (469219) Kamo`oalewa is a uniquely stable quasi-satellite of the Earth and a target of the Tianwen-2 spacecraft mission. Here we report observations taken with…
Dust On, Dust Off: HST Observations of the Newly Dormant Jupiter Co-orbital Comet P/2023 V6 (PANSTARRS)
John Noonan, Theodore Kareta
As the Centaurs of the Outer Solar System have become better studied, their relationship with the Jupiter Family Comets and their connection to the primordial protoplanetary disk h…
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…
Characterization of the Volatile Properties of 133P/Elst-Pizarro and Other Main-Belt Comets with JWST and Ground-Based Observations
Henry H. Hsieh, John W. Noonan, Michael S. P. Kelley +10
We report results from an analysis of the volatile composition and evolution of main-belt comet (MBC) 133P/Elst-Pizarro using JWST NIRSpec and NIRCam observations and ground-based…
Emerging Diversity Among the Main-Belt Comets: Insights from JWST and Ground-Based Observations of 457P/Lemmon-PANSTARRS
John W. Noonan, Henry H. Hsieh, Michael S. P. Kelley +10
We present JWST NIRSpec and NIRCam observations of 457P/Lemmon-PANSTARRS, a main-belt comet that displayed activity around its 2020 perihelion and that was observed to regain activ…
Near-Discovery Observations of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility
Theodore Kareta, Chansey Champagne, Lucas McClure +8
Interstellar Objects are comets and asteroids that formed around other stars but were ejected before they could accrete into exoplanets. They therefore represent a rare opportunity…