446 research outputs found
Dust loss from activated asteroid P/2015 X6
We present observations and dust tail models of activated asteroid P/2015 X6
from deep imaging data acquired at the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC)
from mid-December 2015 to late January 2016. The results of the modeling
indicate that the asteroid has undergone a sustained dust loss over a two-month
or longer period. The dust parameters, derived from multidimensional fits of
the available images, are compatible with either ice sublimation or rotational
instability processes. An impulsive event, as it could be associated to an
impact with another body, is less likely. A power-law distribution of
particles, with minimum and maximum radius of 1 m and 1 cm, and power
index of --3.3 is found to be consistent with the observations. Depending on
the ejection velocity model adopted, the particle velocities are found in the
0.3 to 10 m s range. The activation time was between 18-26 days before
discovery. The total ejected mass from that time to the most recent observation
is in the range 5-910 kg. No dust features giving indication of
past activity earlier than the activation time have been observed.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, May 15th 201
On the dust environment of Main-Belt Comet 313P/Gibbs
We present observations carried out using the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias
and an interpretative model of the dust environment of activated asteroid
313P/Gibbs. We discuss three different models relating to different values of
the dust parameters, i.e, dust loss rate, maximum and minimum sizes of
particles, power index of the size distribution, and emission pattern. The best
model corresponds with an isotropic emission of particles which started on
August 1st. The size of grains were in the range of m, with
velocities for 100 m particles between ms, with a dust
production rate in the range of kgs. The dust tails'
brightness and morphology are best interpreted in terms of a model of sustained
and low dust emission driven by water-ice sublimation, spanning since 2014
August 1st, and triggered by a short impulsive event. This event produced an
emission of small particles of about 0.1 m with velocities of 4
ms. From our model we deduce that the activity of this Main-Belt
Comet continued for, at least, four months, since activation.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
Early evolution of disrupted asteroid P/2016 G1 (PANSTARRS)
We present deep imaging observations of activated asteroid P/2016 G1
(PANSTARRS) using the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) from late April to
early June 2016. The images are best interpreted as the result of a relatively
short-duration event with onset about days before
perihelion (i.e., around 10th February, 2016), starting sharply and decreasing
with a days (Half-width at half-maximum, HWHM). The
results of the modeling imply the emission of 1.710 kg of
dust, if composed of particles of 1 micrometer to 1 cm in radius, distributed
following a power-law of index --3, and having a geometric albedo of 0.15. A
detailed fitting of a conspicuous westward feature in the head of the
comet-like object indicates that a significant fraction of the dust was ejected
along a privileged direction right at the beginning of the event, which
suggests that the parent body has possibly suffered an impact followed by a
partial or total disruption. From the limiting magnitude reachable with the
instrumental setup, and assuming a geometric albedo of 0.15 for the parent
body, an upper limit for the size of possible fragment debris of 50 m in
radius is derived.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letter
Stars and brown dwarfs in the sigma Orionis cluster. III. OSIRIS/GTC low-resolution spectroscopy of variable sources
Context. Although many studies have been performed so far, there are still
dozens of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the young sigma Orionis open
cluster without detailed spectroscopic characterisation. Aims. We look for
unknown strong accretors and disc hosts that were undetected in previous
surveys. Methods. We collected low-resolution spectroscopy (R ~ 700) of ten
low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in sigma Orionis with OSIRIS at the Gran
Telescopio Canarias under very poor weather conditions. These objects display
variability in the optical, infrared, Halpha, and/or X-rays on time scales of
hours to years. We complemented our spectra with optical and near-/mid-infrared
photometry. Results. For seven targets, we detected lithium in absorption,
identified Halpha, the calcium doublet, and forbidden lines in emission, and/or
determined spectral types for the first time. We characterise in detail a
faint, T Tauri-like brown dwarf with an 18 h-period variability in the optical
and a large Halpha equivalent width of -125+/-15 AA, as well as two M1-type,
X-ray-flaring, low-mass stars, one with a warm disc and forbidden emission
lines, the other with a previously unknown cold disc with a large inner hole.
Conclusions. New unrevealed strong accretors and disc hosts, even below the
substellar limit, await discovery among the list of known sigma Orionis stars
and brown dwarfs that are variable in the optical and have no detailed
spectroscopic characterisation yet.Comment: A&A, in press (accepted for publication in section 14. Catalogs and
data of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Disrupted asteroid P/2016 G1. II. Follow-up observations from the Hubble Space Telescope
After the early observations of the disrupted asteroid P/2016 G1 with the
10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), and the modeling of the dust ejecta, we
have performed a follow-up observational campaign of this object using the
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during two epochs (June 28 and July 11, 2016). The
analysis of these HST images with the same model inputs obtained from the GTC
images revealed a good consistency with the predicted evolution from the GTC
images, so that the model is applicable to the whole observational period from
late April to early July 2016. This result confirms that the resulting dust
ejecta was caused by a relatively short-duration event with onset about 350
days before perihelion, and spanning about 30 days (HWHM). For a size
distribution of particles with a geometric albedo of 0.15, having radii limits
of 1 m and 1 cm, and following a power-law with index --3.0, the total
dust mass ejected is 210 kg. As was the case with the GTC
observations, no condensations in the images that could be attributed to a
nucleus or fragments released after the disruption event were found. However,
the higher limiting magnitude reachable with the HST images in comparison with
those from GTC allowed us to impose a more stringent upper limit to the
observed fragments of 30 m.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures Accepted by Astronomical Journal, Nov. 2, 201
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Atmospheric rivers do not explain UK summer extreme rainfall
Extreme rainfall events continue to be one of the largest natural hazards in the UK. In winter, heavy precipitation and floods have been linked with intense moisture transport events associated with atmospheric rivers (ARs), yet no large-scale atmospheric precursors have been linked to summer flooding in the UK. This study investigates the link between ARs and extreme rainfall from two perspectives: 1) Given an extreme rainfall event, is there an associated AR? 2) Given an AR, is there an associated extreme rainfall event? We identify extreme rainfall events using the UK Met Office daily rain-gauge dataset and link these to ARs using two different horizontal resolution atmospheric datasets (ERA-Interim and 20th Century Re-analysis). The results show that less than 35% of winter ARs and less than 15% of summer ARs are associated with an extreme rainfall event. Consistent with previous studies, at least 50% of extreme winter rainfall events are associated with an AR. However, less than 20% of the identified summer extreme rainfall events are associated with an AR. The dependence of the water vapor transport intensity threshold used to define an AR on the years included in the study, and on the length of the season, is also examined. Including a longer period (1900-2012) compared to previous studies (1979-2005) reduces the water vapor transport intensity threshold used to define an AR
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Rapid Orbital Decay in the 12.75-Minute Binary White Dwarf J0651+2844
We report the detection of orbital decay in the 12.75-minute, detached binary white dwarf (WD) SDSS J065133.338+284423.37 (hereafter J0651). Our photometric observations over a 13 month baseline constrain the orbital period to 765.206543(55) s and indicate that the orbit is decreasing at a rate of (-9.8 +/- 2.8) x 10(-12) s s(-1) (or -0.31 +/- 0.09 ms yr(-1)). We revise the system parameters based on our new photometric and spectroscopic observations: J0651 contains two WDs with M-1 = 0.26 +/- 0.04 M-circle dot and M-2 = 0.50 +/- 0.04 M-circle dot. General relativity predicts orbital decay due to gravitational wave radiation of (-8.2 +/- 1.7) x 10(-12) s s(-1) (or -0.26 +/- 0.05 ms yr(-1)). Our observed rate of orbital decay is consistent with this expectation. J0651 is currently the second-loudest gravitational wave source known in the milli-Hertz range and the loudest non-interacting binary, which makes it an excellent verification source for future missions aimed at directly detecting gravitational waves. Our work establishes the feasibility of monitoring this system's orbital period decay at optical wavelengths.NSF AST-0909107, AST-1008734Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program 003658-0252-2009Astronom
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