Imaging Main Belt Comets and Asteroids with the WIYN pODI Camera
Abstract
The 3.5 m WIYN telescope on Kitt Peak has just commissioned the partial One Degree Imager (pODI), an instrument that promises high quality wide-field imaging. To demonstrate the capabilities of this new camera, we obtained deep, wide-field images of Main Belt Comets (asteroids which show transient, comet-like morphologies resulting from significant mass loss). We present initial results from two such targets, P/2010 A2 and 300163. The data, although preliminary, demonstrate the advantages of the sharp images and large field offered by pODI. The full extent of the A2 tail is revealed for the first time and we have begun to study deep images of other asteroids in the field. The latter is the first step in a main thrust of our program, to look for evidence of pervasive low-level activity in main belt asteroids.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- June 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AAS...22221420R