Large Particles in Active Asteroid P/2010 A2

The previously unknown asteroid P/2010 A2 rose to prominence in 2010 by forming a transient, comet-like tail consisting of ejected dust. The observed dust production was interpreted as the result of either a hypervelocity impact with a smaller body or a rotational disruption. We have re-observed this object, finding that large particles remain a full orbital period after the initial outburst. In the intervening years, particles smaller than ~3 mm in radius have been dispersed by radiation pressure, leaving only larger particles in the trail. Since the total mass is dominated by the largest particles, the radiation pressure filtering allows us to obtain a more reliable estimate of the debris mass than was previously possible. We find that the mass contained in the debris is ~5 × 10⁸ kg (assumed density 3000 kg m^-3), the ratio of the total debris mass to the nucleus mass is ~0.1, and that events like P/2010 A2 contribute <3% to the Zodiacal dust production rate. Physical properties of the nucleus and debris are also determined.

The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.