WATER-ICE-DRIVEN ACTIVITY ON MAIN-BELT COMET P/2010 A2 (LINEAR)?

The dust ejecta of Main-Belt Comet P/2010 A2 (LINEAR) have been observed with several telescopes at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on La Palma, Spain. Application of an inverse dust tail Monte Carlo method to the images of the dust ejecta from the object indicates that a sustained, likely water-ice-driven, activity over some eight months is the mechanism responsible for the formation of the observed tail. The total amount of the dust released is estimated to be 5 × 107 kg, which represents about 0.3% of the nucleus mass. While the event could have been triggered by a collision, this cannot be determined from the currently available data.

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