(300163) 2006 VW139

Binary main-belt active asteroid September 2017 yes (300163) 2006 VW 139288P/2006 VW 139 #D6D6D6 2006VW139.gif Time-lapse video of 2006 VW 139 Spacewatch Kitt Peak National Obs. 15 November 2006 (300163) 2006 VW 139 288PP/2006 VW 139 main-belt(outer)main-belt comet 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) 0 16.31 yr (5,958 days) 3.6619 AU 2.4358 AU 28 June 2027 3.0488 AU 0.2011 5.32 yr (1,944 days) 55.529° 0.1851 ms / day 3.2402° 83.187° 281.00° 1 1.8 0.2 km (derived)3.20 km (calculated) 6.15 4.85 12 kgmass-note 0.057 (assumed) C (assumed) 16.216.20 0.24 (300163) 2006 VW 139 (periodic comet designation 288P/2006 VW 139) is a binary active asteroid and main-belt comet from the outer regions of the asteroid belt. The object was discovered by Spacewatch in 2006. Its binary nature was confirmed by the Hubble Space Telescope in September 2016. Both the primary and its minor-planet moon are similar in mass and size, making it a true binary system. The components are estimated to measure 1.8 kilometers in diameter, orbiting each other at a wide separation of 104 kilometers every 135 days. Discovery 2006 VW 139 was discovered on 15 November 2006, by the Spacewatch survey at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. The possible cometary activity was seen in November 2011 by Pan-STARRS. Both Spacewatch and Pan-STARRS are asteroid survey projects of NASA's Near Earth Object Observations Program. After the Pan-STARRS observations it was also given a comet designation of 288P. Orbit and classification 2006 VW 139 is a non-family asteroid of the main-belt's background population. It is both a binary asteroid and a main-belt comet, also known as an "active asteroid". It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 4 months (1,944 days; semi-major axis of 3.05 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins in September 2000, with a precovery taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at Apache Point Observatory, New Mexico, more than six years prior to its official discovery observation by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak. First binary main-belt comet 2006 VW 139 was first observed by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in December 2011. It was imaged by HST in September 2016, just before it made its closest approach to the Sun and confirmed its binary nature with two asteroids orbiting each other, and revealed ongoing cometary activity. This makes the object the first known binary asteroid that is also classified as a main-belt comet. The binary is thought to be the result of fission of the precursor caused by YORP-driven spinup. Observations of the HST revealed ongoing activity in this binary system. The combined features of this binary asteroid - wide separation, near-equal component size, high eccentricity orbit, and comet-like activity also make it unique among the few known binary asteroids that have a wide separation. Physical characteristics Diameter, albedo, and mass 2006 VW 139 has a derived diameter of 1.8 0.2 kilometer. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 3.20 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 16.2. The binary system has an estimated mass between 1.3 12 kg and 1.1 13 kg. A single component has a derived mass of 6.15 4.85 12 kg. Numbering and naming This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 12 October 2011 (M.P.C. 76600). As of 2020, it has not been named. See also 483P/PanSTARRS – Pair of main-belt comets thought to have recently split apart (458271) 2010 UM 26 and (796785) 2010 RN 221 – Pair of main-belt asteroids thought to have recently dissociated from a binary system Notes mass-note The mass of the primary component6.15 4.85 12 kg. The overall mass of the binary system is estimated to be between 1.3 12 kg and 1.1 13 kg. References 30em 2016-12-26 last obs. JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 300163 (2006 VW139) https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2300163 Jet Propulsion Laboratory 24 November 2017 (300163) 2006 VW139 Minor Planet Center https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=300163 30 September 2020 MPC/MPO/MPS Archive Minor Planet Center https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html 24 November 2017 Asteroids with Satellites Database – (300163) 2006 VW139 (= 288P) Johnston's Archive 24 September 2017 Johnston, Wm. Robert https://www.johnstonsarchive.net/astro/astmoons/am-300163.html 24 November 2017 6 Henry H. Hsieh Bin Yang Nader Haghighipour Heather M. Kaluna Alan Fitzsimmons Larry Denneau Bojan Novakovic Robert Jedicke Richard J. Wainscoat James D. Armstrong Samuel R. Duddy Stephen C. Lowry Chadwick A. Trujillo Marco Micheli Jacqueline V. Keane Laurie Urban Timm Riesen Karen J. Meech Shinsuke Abe Yu-Chi Cheng Wen-Ping Chen Mikael Granvik Tommy Grav Wing-Huen Ip Daisuke Kinoshita Jan Kleyna Pedro Lacerda Tim Lister Andrea Milani David J. Tholen Peter Veres Carey M. Lisse Michael S. Kelley Yanga R. Fernández Bhuwan C. Bhatt Devendra K. Sahu Nick Kaiser K. C. Chambers Klaus W. Hodapp Eugene A. Magnier Paul A. Price John L. Tonry March 2012 Discovery of Main-belt Comet P/2006 VW139 by Pan-STARRS1 The Astrophysical Journal Letters 748 1 7 2012ApJ...748L..15H 10.1088/2041-8205/748/1/L15 1202.2126 8693844 Comet or Asteroid? Hubble Discovers that a Unique Object is a Binary NASA 20 September 2017 https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/hubble-discovers-that-a-unique-object-is-a-binary 28 July 2018 Jessica Agarwal David Jewitt Max Mutchler Harold Weaver Stephen Larson September 2017 A binary main-belt comet Nature 549 7672 357–359.(NatureHomepage) 2017Natur.549..357A 10.1038/nature23892 28933430 1710.03454 4469577 Asteroid (300163) 2006 VW139 – Proper Elements AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site https://newton.spacedys.com/astdys/index.php?pc=1.1.6&n=300163 28 October 2019 300163 24 November 2017 6 Peter Veres Robert Jedicke Alan Fitzsimmons Larry Denneau Mikael Granvik Bryce Bolin Serge Chastel Richard J. Wainscoat William S. Burgett Kenneth C. Chambers Heather Flewelling Nick Kaiser Eugen A. Magnier Jeff S. Morgan Paul A. Price John L. Tonry Christopher Waters November 2015 Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results Icarus 261 34–47 2015Icar..261...34V 10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007 1506.00762 53493339 External links Comet or Asteroid? Hubble Discovers that a Unique Object is a Binary, Hubblesite, September 2017 Asteroids with Satellites, Robert Johnston, johnstonsarchive.net Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info https://web.archive.org/web/20171216050541/http://www.minorplanet.info/lightcurvedatabase.html 16 December 2017 ) Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (300001)-(305000) – Minor Planet Center 300163 288P/(300163) 2006 VW139 at Seiichi Yoshida's website 288P at Gideon van Buitenen's website 300163 (300163) 2006 VW 139 ( 0288 300163 300163 300163 20061115