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Summary
DescriptionA Centaur in Transition.jpg
English: The blazing bright ball slicing through the center of this image is an example of a type of celestial body known as a centaur— a Solar System object that can be like both a comet and an asteroid. These fast moving icy objects reside in unstable orbits in the space between Jupiter and Neptune. The centaur in this image is named P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS), or LD2 for short. LD2 was observed from Gemini North, the Hawai‘i-basedhalf of the international Gemini Observatory, which is a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab.
Español: La brillante bola que atraviesa el centro de esta imagen es un ejemplo de un tipo de cuerpo celeste conocido como centauro: un objeto del Sistema Solar que puede ser un cometa o un asteroide al mismo tiempo. Estos objetos helados y de movimiento rápido se encuentran en órbitas inestables en el espacio entre Júpiter y Neptuno. El centauro que se ve en esta imagen se llama P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) o LD2 para abreviar. LD2 se observó desde el telescopio Gemini Norte, en Hawai'i, que es parte del Observatorio internacional Gemini, un Programa del NOIRLab de NSF.
Date
Source
https://noirlab.edu/public/images/iotw2050a/
Author
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Acknowledgments:
PI: C.Schambeau (University of Central Florida)
Image Processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin
Licensing
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Captions
The blazing bright ball slicing through the center of this image is an example of a type of celestial body known as a centaur— a Solar System object that can be like both a comet and an asteroid.
La brillante bola que atraviesa el centro de esta imagen es un ejemplo de un tipo de cuerpo celeste conocido como centauro: un objeto del Sistema Solar que puede ser un cometa o un asteroide al mismo tiempo.
Items portrayed in this file
depicts
P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS)
copyright status
copyrighted
copyright license
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
inception
9 December 2020
media type
image/jpeg
checksum
603a6d08e6b3a8f478b450cd315b4cb5fbcdd74e
determination method: SHA-1
data size
329,579 byte
height
1,551 pixel
width
2,146 pixel
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current
19:01, 18 January 2021
2,146 × 1,551 (322 KB)
Pandreve
Uploaded a work by International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgments: PI: C.Schambeau (University of Central Florida) Image Processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin from https://noirlab.edu/public/images/iotw2050a/ with UploadWizard
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Credit/Provider
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgments: PI: C.Schambeau (University of Central Florida)Image Processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin
Source
NSF's NOIRLab
Short title
A Centaur in Transition
Image title
The blazing bright ball slicing through the center of this image is an example of a type of celestial body known as a centaur— a Solar System object that can be like both a comet and an asteroid. These fast moving icy objects reside in unstable orbits in the space between Jupiter and Neptune. The centaur in this image is named P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS), or LD2 for short. LD2 was observed from Gemini North, the Hawai‘i-basedhalf of the international Gemini Observatory, which is a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. LD2 is on the cusp of an important transition — it is the first centaur to be seen in the process of changing into a comet-like state. It is slowly being nudged closer and closer towards the inner Solar System,which is causing its tail to form, and it is on track to move within Jupiter’s orbit in 2063. Once it does, it will cease to be a centaur, and will become a Jupiter Family Comet instead — joining a population of comets orbiting the Sun in less than 20 years and roughly in the same plane as mostof the rest of the Solar System. That astronomers are able to witness LD2’s transition is unique and it is particularly exciting as many astronomers will be able to observe this metamorphosis within their own lifetimes — a fascinating glimpse of astronomy in action.
Usage terms
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License