118401 LINEAR

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118401 LINEAR
176P/LINEAR
Discovery A
Discoverer LINEAR
Discovery date September 7, 1999
Alternate
designations
B
1999 RE70
Category Main belt (Themis), Comet
Orbital elements C
Epoch June 14, 2006 (JD 2453900.5)
Eccentricity (e) 0.192
Semi-major axis (a) 478.120 Gm (3.196 AU)
Perihelion (q) 386.104 Gm (2.581 AU)
Aphelion (Q) 570.136 Gm (3.811 AU)
Orbital period (P) 2086.967 d (5.71 a)
Mean orbital speed 16.51 km/s
Inclination (i) 0.238°
Longitude of the
ascending node
(Ω)
346.572°
Argument of
perihelion
(ω)
36.141°
Mean anomaly (M) 41.182°
Physical characteristics D
Dimensions <6.0 km
Mass <2.3×1014 kg
Density 2.0? g/cm³
Surface gravity <0.0017 m/s²
Escape velocity <0.0032 km/s
Rotation period  ? d
Spectral class  ?
Absolute magnitude 15.1
Albedo (geometric) 0.10?
Mean surface
temperature
~156 K
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176P/LINEAR
Discovery
Discovered by: LINEAR
Discovery date: October 18, 2005
Alternate designations: 1999 RE70
Orbital characteristics A
Epoch: November 6, 2005 (JD 2453680.5)
Aphelion distance: 3.811678 AU
Perihelion distance: 2.5811186 AU
Semi-major axis: 3.19640 AU
Eccentricity: 0.1924908
Orbital period: 5.714 a
Inclination: 0.23795°
Last perihelion: October 18, 2005
Next perihelion (predicted): June 30, 2011

118401 LINEAR (provisional designation 1999 RE70) is an asteroid and main-belt comet (176P/LINEAR, also known as LINEAR 52) which was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) 1-metre telescopes in Socorro, New Mexico on September 7, 1999. (118401) LINEAR was discovered to be cometary on November 26, 2005, by Henry H. Hsieh and David C. Jewitt as part of the Hawaii Trails project using the Gemini North 8-m telescope on Mauna Kea and was confirmed by the University of Hawaii's 2.2-m (88-in) telescope on December 24-27, 2005, and Gemini on December 29, 2005. Based on an absolute magnitude (H) of 15.04, (118401) LINEAR is assumed to be smaller than 6 km in diameter.

The main-belt comets are unique in that they have flat, circular, asteroid-like orbits, and not the elongated, often tilted orbits characteristic of all other comets. Since (118401) LINEAR can generate a coma (produced by vapour boiled off the comet), it must be an icy asteroid. When a typical comet approaches the Sun, its ice heats up and sublimates (changes directly from ice to gas), venting gas and dust into space, creating a tail and giving the object a fuzzy appearance. Far from the Sun, sublimation stops, and the remaining ice stays frozen until the comet's next pass close to the Sun. In contrast, objects in the asteroid belt have essentially circular orbits and are expected to be mostly baked dry of ice by their confinement to the inner solar system.

It is suggested that these main-belt asteroid-comets are evidence of a recent impact exposing an icy interior to solar radiation. A good question is, "How long will current main-belt comets keep generating a coma?" It is estimated short period comets remain active for about 10,000 years before having most of their ice sublimated away and going dormant.


Minor planets
(see full list)
Previous minor planet 118401 LINEAR Next minor planet
Comets
Previous periodic comet 176P/LINEAR Next periodic comet
List of periodic comets
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