Six Years of Persistent Activity from Active Asteroid (6478) Gault
Abstract
We found persistent comet-like activity in asteroid (6478) Gault as far back as 2013 in archival data. This evidence would typically point to ice sublimation as the source of the tail. However, no gases have been found in spectra of (6478) Gault to date, and it is a member of a predominantly dry asteroid family. (6478) Gault may represent the first discovery of a new class of object, perpetually active due to rotational spin-up. Contrary to earlier reports, the lengthy duration of (6478) Gault's outburst indicates it is not catastrophically breaking apart.
- Publication:
-
EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2019
- Pub Date:
- September 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019EPSC...13.1252C