Cometary Origin Research Articles

Near-Earth Asteroids as the parents of the $\delta$-Cancrid Meteoroid Stream

Abstract The $\delta$-Cancrid meteoroid stream forms four active meteor showers which are observable on the Earth annually during January-February and August-September. The stream's definite parent comet has not been established. We performed a search for near-Earth
 asteroids (NEAs) associated with this stream. We have followed the backward evolution of the orbital elements of a sample of NEAs and found their orbits at the Earth-crossing positions. Using these orbits, we calculated the theoretical parameters of meteor showers
 associated with the considered NEAs. We carried out our search for observable active showers that match theoretically predicted ones with published data, and the result turned out that the predicted meteor showers of 13 NEAs were identified with the active showers produced by the $\delta$-Cancrid meteoroid stream. The comet-like orbits of NEAs and established association with active meteor showers indicate their common cometary origin. The NEAs considered are moving within the stream and likely represent the dormant remnants of a parent comet of the $\delta$-Cancrid asteroid-meteoroid complex disintegrated more than 12 thousand years
 ago.

Compositional evidence for chondrule origins of low‐Ca pyroxenes in comet Wild 2 and a giant cluster IDP

AbstractA literature compilation of 1136 low‐Ca pyroxene compositions from chondrules from 12 primitive type 2–3 carbonaceous, ordinary and enstatite chondrite groups define unique regions on an Al2O3 and Cr2O3 diagram when compared to low‐Ca pyroxenes from equilibrated type 4‐6 chondrites. Measured compositions of 100 low‐Ca pyroxenes from comet Wild 2 and a giant cluster IDP of probable cometary origin are similar to each other and fall in the type 2–3 chondrite chondrule region suggesting that most of the pyroxenes likely formed in the solar nebula like conventional chondrules. The data imply that most low Ca‐pyroxenes from comet Wild 2 and the giant cluster IDP formed from igneous crystallization processes and did not experience significant thermal metamorphism, indicating that the low‐Ca pyroxenes were unlikely incorporated into large parent bodies prior to accretion in their respective comet bodies. An intriguing group of nine low‐Ca pyroxenes from comet Wild 2 with low Cr and Al that fall where type 4–6 chondrites are located are interpreted as products of condensation. The compositional data combined with previously measured oxygen isotopes on 17 low‐Ca pyroxenes support earlier conclusions that comet samples have links with carbonaceous, ordinary, and possibly enstatite chondrite groups. Our results provide additional evidence that comets accreted materials from multiple chondrule reservoirs throughout the solar nebula.

Comet P/2003 T12 (SOHO): A possible fragment of comet 169P/NEAT?

This work provides insights into the possible origin of comet P/2003 T12 (SOHO) and the dynamics of comet fragmentation events. We studied the hypothesis of the origin of the comet P/2003 T12 (SOHO) as a fragment of the Jupiter family comet 169P/NEAT. We studied the recent dynamical evolution of the comet pair and determined the epochs of relative minimum distance and velocity as well as the similarity between the orbits using different criteria following Rożek et al. (2011) and Kholshevnikov et al. (2016). We generated 6000 clones of both comets with orbital elements compatible with the observational uncertainties of the actual orbits and found that their evolution is stable for the past ∼ 5000 years. We found four epochs where the relative distance and velocity exhibit simultaneous minima. We studied possible fragmentation events in these epochs by applying a simple break-up model for the generation of fictitious fragments at different relative speeds. Analyzing the orbital distance between the fragments, we found some fragments that exhibit noticeable stable behavior at a very low mutual orbital distance according to several distance definitions, which suggest that those fragments evolve in orbits very similar to that of the P/2003 T12 (SOHO). We conclude that comet P/2003 T12 (SOHO) could be a fragment of comet 169P/NEAT and the most likely epoch for such fragmentation would be at least 2000 years ago (around 94 A.D.), given that the fragments that best resemblance comet P/2003 T12 (SOHO) are found in this epoch.

Near-Earth asteroids of cometary origin associated with the Virginid complex

The Virginid meteoroid streams produce a series of meteor showers active annually during February–May. A certain parent comet is not found but a related association of some showers with near-Earth asteroids was previously established and a cometary origin of these asteroids was suggested. We performed a new search for NEAs belonging to the Virginid asteroid–meteoroid complex. On the base of calculation of orbital evolution of a sample of NEAs and determination of theoretical features of related showers a search for observable active showers close to theoretically predicted ones was carried out. As a result, the predicted showers of 27 NEAs were identified with the showers of the Virginid complex. Revealed association points to a cometary nature of NEAs that are moving within the stream and may be considered as extinct fragments of a larger comet-progenitor of the Virginid asteroid–meteoroid complex.

Postperihelion Cometary Activity on the Outer Main-belt Asteroid 2005 XR132

We report comet-like activity on the outer main-belt asteroid 2005 XR132 discovered by the Lulin One-meter Telescope in early 2021 April. A series of follow-up observations were triggered to characterize the morphology and brightness variation of 2005 XR132. Long-term photometric data of the 2020 perihelion return reveal a 2 mag fading in 120 days, starting 20 days postperihelion, attributed to decreased cometary activity. Even though no variation indicative of the rotational period can be found in our data, we infer an a/b axial ratio of 1.32, given that the lower limit of rotational amplitude is 0.3 mag. A visible spectrum and broadband color support that 2005 XR132 has a reflectance feature similar to a BR-type Centaur object. The syndyne and synchrone simulations reveal a low-speed dust ejecta consisting of millimeter-sized dust grains released shortly after the perihelion passage. We demonstrate that 2005 XR132 has a short dynamical lifetime of 0.12 Myr, with <5% of it in the near-Earth space. Due to the strong gravitational influence from Jupiter and Saturn, the asteroid has followed a random walk orbital migrating process. We also find that since 1550 CE, the perihelion distance of 2005 XR132 has gradually decreased from 2.8 to 2.0 au, likely due to the Kozai–Lidov effect, which potentially reactivated the dormant nucleus. All these dynamical properties support a cometary origin for 2005 XR132 rather than an ice-rich main-belt object kicked out from a stable orbit, although current observational evidence has yet to confirm repeating cometary activities.

Diversity of Complex Organic Matter in Carbonaceous Chondrites, IDPs, and UCAMMs

Complex organic matter is present in many extraterrestrial materials such as chondrite meteorites, micrometeorites, and interplanetary dust. The observed complexity of this organic matter is due to the combination of diversity of primitive organic materials that accreted onto asteroids and the subsequent effect of hydrothermal and/or metamorphic alteration that took place after accretion. These processes resulted in a variety of carbonaceous grain morphologies, elemental abundances, and organic functional group compositions. Some carbonaceous dust grains and micrometeorites have cometary origins and provide insights into the unique processing histories on those outer Solar System bodies. Isotopic analyses can help distinguish carbonaceous grains that retain their pre-accretion heritage, while advanced microscopy techniques reveal the interplay of complex organic matter with surrounding mineral.

Microstructural and chemical features of impact melts on Ryugu particle surfaces: Records of interplanetary dust hit on asteroid Ryugu.

The Hayabusa2 spacecraft delivered samples of the carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu to Earth. Some of the sample particles show evidence of micrometeoroid impacts, which occurred on the asteroid surface. Among those, particles A0067 and A0094 have flat surfaces on which a large number of microcraters and impact melt splashes are observed. Two impact melt splashes and one microcrater were analyzed to unveil the nature of the objects that impacted the asteroid surface. The melt splashes consist mainly of Mg-Fe-rich glassy silicates and Fe-Ni sulfides. The microcrater trapped an impact melt consisting mainly of Mg-Fe-rich glassy silicate, Fe-Ni sulfides, and minor silica-rich glass. These impact melts show a single compositional trend indicating mixing of Ryugu surface materials and impactors having chondritic chemical compositions. The relict impactor in one of the melt splashes shows mineralogical similarity with anhydrous chondritic interplanetary dust particles having a probable cometary origin. The chondritic micrometeoroids probably impacted the Ryugu surface during its residence in a near-Earth orbit.

EVOLUTION OF METEOROID STREAMS ORIGINATING FROM NEA COLLISIONS

In this work we study formation and evolution of meteoroid streams originating from the collisions of near Earth asteroids (NEA) with objects of the Main Asteroid belt (MAB). Such a collision scenario is considered more probable compared to collisions between NEAs, since many NEAs, by virtue of their origin, cross the MAB region, where the number density of objects is significant compared to the inner regions of the Solar System. Meteoroid streams originating from collisions have a number of differences from the streams of cometary origin, both in terms of the formation and the evolution. In this paper, estimates are obtained for the meteoroid formation rate as a result of NEA collisions with MAB asteroids. On the basis of high-velocity collisions models and the DART experiment data, possible particle size and velocity distributions are obtained. We made numerical simulation taking into account gravitational perturbations and radiation forces and the influence of the initial velocity on the evolution was studied. An analysis was made of the rate of dust and meteoroids production, taking into account the distribution of the current population of the NEA, and it was concluded that the rates of influx of meteoroids of asteroid and cometary origin (in terms of mass) can be quite comparable.

Nuclear and Orbital Characterization of the Transition Object (4015) 107P/Wilson–Harrington

Comet 107P/Wilson–Harrington, cross-listed as asteroid 4015, is one of the original transition objects whose properties do not neatly fit into a cometary or asteroidal origin. Discovered in a period of apparently gas-dominated activity in 1949, it was subsequently lost and recovered as the inactive asteroid 1979 VA. We obtained new and reanalyzed archival observations of the object, compared to meteorites, and conducted new orbital integrations in order to understand the nature of this object and to understand where it falls on the asteroid–comet continuum. Wilson–Harrington’s reflectance spectrum is approximately neutral from visible to near-infrared wavelengths, but has a reflectance maximum near 0.8–0.9 μm. The object’s spectrum is well matched by laboratory spectra of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites like the CM Murchison or the C i Ivuna. The object’s phase curve slope is compatible with either an asteroidal or cometary origin, and its recent orbital history has no periods with high enough temperatures to have altered its surface. While it is possible that some unknown process has acted to change the surface from an originally cometary one, we instead prefer a fundamentally asteroidal origin for Wilson–Harrington, which can explain its surface and orbital properties. However, this would require a way to maintain significant (hyper)volatile supplies on the near-Earth objects beyond what is currently expected. Wilson–Harrington’s similar meteorite affinity and possible orbital link to sample return targets (162173) Ryugu and (101955) Bennu suggest that the returned samples from the Hayabusa-2 and OSIRIS-REx missions might hold the key to understanding this object.

Ryugu’s Anhydrous Ingredients and Their Spectral Link to Primitive Dust from the Outer Solar System

Ryugu is a second-generation C-type asteroid formed by the reassembly of fragments of a previous larger body in the main asteroid belt. While the majority of Ryugu samples returned by Hayabusa2 are composed of a lithology dominated by aqueously altered minerals, clasts of pristine olivine and pyroxene remain in the least-altered lithologies. These clasts are objects of great interest for revealing the composition of the dust from which the original building blocks of Ryugu's parent asteroid formed. Here we show that some grains rich in olivine, pyroxene, and amorphous silicates discovered in one millimeter-sized stone of Ryugu have infrared spectra similar to the D-type asteroid Hektor (a Jupiter Trojan), to comet Hale–Bopp, and to some anhydrous interplanetary dust particles of probable cometary origin. This result indicates that Ryugu's primary parent body incorporated anhydrous ingredients similar to the building blocks of asteroids (and possibly some comets) formed in the outer solar system, and that Ryugu retained valuable information on the formation and evolution of planetesimals at different epochs of our solar system's history.

Dual-band Fourier-transform Millimeter-wave Spectrometry for In Situ Gas Sensing

The exploration of icy body composition in the solar system has often involved spectroscopic measurements of volatiles detected with remote sensing, such measurements portray materials naturally expelled from the surface that enter the exosphere and potentially escape into space. Variations in the ratio of deuterium and hydrogen in these measurements have led to inconclusive hypotheses regarding potential cometary origins of Earth’s ocean water and/or organics. Observational biases regarding unknown previous processing of the observable ejected materials necessitates studies of more dormant, less-processed bodies. Landed missions on comets have brought focus onto the development of small, sensitive instrumentation capable of similar composition measurements of the nascent surface and near-surface materials. We present an evolution of our compact Fourier-transform millimeter-wave cavity spectrometer that is tuned for sensitivity at 80.6 and 183 GHz where HDO and H2O exhibit resonance features. We discuss both a low-SWaP (size–weight and power) architecture that uses custom microchip transceiver elements as well as a modular configuration using traditional GaAs-based millimeter-wave hardware. New design features for these systems including quartz-based coupling elements, system thermal management, and a separable clocking board are discussed in addition to sensitivity studies and applications in potential mission scenarios.

The grain size distribution of matrix in primitive chondrites

AbstractThe matrix of primitive chondrites is composed of submicron crystals embedded in amorphous silicates. These grains are thought to be the remains of relatively unprocessed dust from the inner regions of the protoplanetary disk. The matrix of primitive meteorites is often compared to chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles (CP‐IDPs) which are believed to be of cometary origin, having accreted in the outermost regions of the solar nebula. Crystalline grains in CP‐IDPs show evidence of a size–density relationship between the silicates and sulfides suggesting that these components experienced sorting prior to accretion. Here, we investigate whether such evidence of sorting is also present in the matrix constituents of primitive chondrites. We report findings from our study of grain size distributions of discrete silicate and opaque (sulfide and metal) grains within the matrix of the primitive meteorites Acfer 094 (C2‐ung.), ALHA77307 (CO3), MIL 07687 (C3‐ung.), and QUE 99177 (CR2). Mean radii of matrix silicate grains range from 103 nm in QUE 99177 to 2018 nm in MIL 07687. The opaque grains show a wider variation, with average radii ranging from 15 nm in QUE 99177 to 219 nm in MIL07687. Our results indicate that, in contrast to CP‐IDPs, the size distribution of matrix components of these primitive meteorites cannot be explained by aerodynamic sorting that took place prior to accretion. We conclude that any evidence of sorting is likely to have been lost due to a greater variety and degree of processing experienced on these primitive chondrites than on cometary parent bodies.

Interpebble contact radius in a comet nucleus

ABSTRACTIn recent years, the gravitational collapse of pebble clumps in the early Solar system has been regarded as a plausible scenario for the origin of comets. In this context, ‘pebbles’ represent mm- to cm-sized dust aggregates composed of (sub)micron-sized dust particles, and the structure of km-sized comets is thought to be an agglomerate of pebbles. The contact radius for pebble–pebble contacts was modelled in an earlier study; however, the pressure dependence of the interpebble contact radius was not considered. Here, we revisit the interpebble contact radius in a comet nucleus. We calculated the interpebble contact radius based on JKR contact theory, and we took into consideration the effect of lithostatic pressure. We found that the interpebble contact radius varies with depth from the surface, and the earlier model underestimated it by one order of magnitude at the centre of the comet nucleus.

Adsorption-driven Gas Trapping in Cometary Ice Analogs

Icy planetary bodies carry volatiles in abundances that should reflect the conditions of their formation. However, the interpretation of volatile abundance data from comets is complicated by the fact that the governing parameters and underlying mechanism of volatile trapping are poorly constrained. To unravel the mechanism of gas trapping in water ice and shed light on the origin of comets, gas-trapping experiments were conducted under isothermal conditions with a focus on the relationship between adsorption properties and the quantities of trapped gas. The adsorption data suggest that the adsorption energies of ice surfaces are heterogeneous, and surface properties depend on initial ice-deposition temperatures as well as on the effect of thermal annealing. Sites with different adsorption energies result in temperature dependence of contributing adsorption sites. Moreover, adsorption sites characterized by higher energy contribute predominantly at low pressures, relevant to the protosolar nebula, and at higher temperatures. When new ice was added to the well-characterized ice surface under controlled Ar pressure, the amount of trapped gas was proportional to the amount of gas adsorbed on the newly generated external surface, suggesting the burial of adsorbed gas as the primary mechanism of gas trapping. The ratio of trapped to newly adsorbed gas reflecting the internal to external surface areas ranged between 5 and 20. Assuming the formation of comparable water ice under the pressure-temperature profile of the protosolar nebula, Ar/H2O∼10−5 reported from 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko could have formed at about 40 K.

Diverse oxygen isotopic compositions among cometary vapor-phase condensates

Filamentary enstatite crystals, formed by gas–solid condensation in the solar nebula, are found in chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles of probable cometary origin. We measured the oxygen isotopic composition of four filamentary enstatite grains, two whiskers (1.8 μm and 2.3 μm in length) and two ribbons (3.4 μm and 6.1 μm in length), from the giant cluster interplanetary dust particle U2-20 GCP using NanoSIMS ion imaging. These grains represent both the 16O-rich solar (δ17,18O ≈-70‰) and 16O-poor planetary (δ17,18O ≈0‰) isotope reservoirs. Our measurements provide evidence for very early vaporization of dust-poor and dust-rich regions of the solar nebula, followed by condensation and outward transport of crystalline dust to the comet-forming region very far from the Sun. Similar processes are likely responsible for the crystalline silicates observed in the outer regions of protoplanetary disks elsewhere in the Galaxy.

Orbital Characterization of Superbolides Observed from Space: Dynamical Association with Near-Earth Objects, Meteoroid Streams, and Identification of Hyperbolic Meteoroids

There is an unceasing incoming flux of extraterrestrial materials reaching the Earth atmosphere. Some of these objects produce luminous columns when they ablate during the hypersonic encounter with air molecules. A few fireballs occur each year bright enough to be detected from space. The source of these events is still a matter of debate, but it is generally accepted that they are of sporadic origin. We studied the NASA-JPL Center for NEOs Studies (CNEOS) fireball database to infer the dynamic origin of large bolides produced by meter-sized projectiles that impacted our planet. These likely meteorite-dropping events were recorded by the US Government satellite sensors. We estimated the false-positive rate and analyzed the time evolution of multiple orbit dissimilarity criteria concerning potential associations with near-Earth objects and meteoroid streams. We found that at least 16% of the large bolides could be associated with meteoroid streams, about 4% are likely associated with near-Earth asteroids, and 4% may be linked to near-Earth comets. This implies that a significant fraction of meter-sized impactors producing large bolides may have an asteroidal or cometary origin. In addition, we found at least three bolides having hyperbolic orbits with high tensile strength values. Meter-sized meteoroids of interstellar origin could be more common than previously thought, representing about 1% of the flux of large bolides. The inferred bulk physical properties suggest that the interstellar medium could bias these projectiles toward high strength rocks with the ability to survive prolonged exposure to the harsh interstellar space conditions.

Collisional evolution of the trans-Neptunian region in an early dynamical instability scenario

ABSTRACT Any early or late dynamical instability in the outer Solar system should have left their footprint on the trans-Neptunian object (TNO) populations. Here, we study the collisional and dynamical evolution of such populations numerically by an updated version of ALICANDEP, which suitably takes into account the onset of an early dynamical instability. Key parameters for collisional and dynamical evolution are chosen to match results with current observables. The new model (ALICANDEP-22) considers an original region located between 22 and 30 au, containing 20–30 M⊕ from which bodies are either dynamically ejected from the region or implanted into the current plutinos and hot classical trans-Neptunian belt. An in situ population of objects is also present since the beginning, corresponding to the current cold-classical population. Collisional and dynamical evolution is allowed starting from initial conditions accounting for streaming instability models and observational constraints. ALICANDEP-22 successfully reproduces observational constraints as well as the shape of the size-frequency distribution expected for the Trojan population. The model concludes that Arrokoth is likely a primordial body but cannot be conclusive on the origin of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The current presence of bodies larger than Pluto in the outer TNO population – waiting to be discovered – is compatible with the initial distributions that allow the model to match current constraints.

Sharjah Lunar Impact Observatory (SLIO)

We present a detailed description of Sharjah Lunar Impact Observatory (SLIO), the only source of lunar impact observations in the Middle East and North Africa region. The Observatory was established on February 29th, 2020. It is located inside the campus of the Sharjah Academy of Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology (SAASST), which is part of the University of Sharjah (UoS), Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The coordinates of the Observatory are 25°17'02.1"N 55°27'48.4"E, with an altitude of 80 m above the sea level.It is equipped with a 14" LX 200 ACF Schmidt-Cassegrain Meade telescope with a focal ratio of 10 (f/10). The camera is a high-sensitivity Watec video camera of the model 902H Ultimate utilizing a 0.5" monochrome CCD Sony ICX439ALL sensor. It can record 25 fps with a resolution of 720 × 576 pixels.One of SLIO's results is recording a lunar impact detection on March 1st, 2020, at 16:54:22.969 UT, which was confirmed by the NELIOTA project in Greece. The flash magnitude of the impact was found to be 7.94 ± 0.36. The analysis estimated the mass of the impactor as 1.919 kg with a cometary origin, with a radius of 17.36 cm, and create a crater with a diameter around 2.84 m.

Overview SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic as January-February 2022: Likely Cometary Origin, Global Spread, Prospects for Future Vaccine Efficacy

Overview SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic as January-February 2022: Likely Cometary Origin, Global Spread, Prospects for Future Vaccine Efficacy

Comet-Asteroid Classification Among Orbits of Sporadic Meteoroids Observed by BRAMON Between 2014 and 2021

Abstract The Brazilian Meteor Observation Network (BRAMON) is a TV meteor detection network that has been implemented in Brazil since 2014. The BRAMON data made it possible to determine the high-quality orbits of 630 sporadic meteors observed between 2014 and 2021. Using criteria from Jopek &amp; Williams, we assign each of these meteors an asteroidal or cometary origin. Cometary type orbits correspond to slightly more than 60% of sporadic meteors of our sample, a similar percentage to that obtained from other meteor surveys when considering the same magnitude range.