311P/PanSTARRS
311P/PanSTARRS also known as P/2013 P5 (PanSTARRS) or (Jasurbek) is an active asteroid (object with asteroid-like orbit but with comet-like visual characteristics) discovered by Bryce T. Bolin using the Pan-STARRS telescope on 27 August 2013. Observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope revealed that it had six comet-like tails. The tails are suspected to be streams of material ejected by the asteroid as a result of a rubble pile asteroid spinning fast enough to remove material from it. This is similar to 331P/Gibbs, which was found to be a quickly-spinning rubble pile as well.
P/2013 P5 (PanSTARRS) Jasurbek as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Bryce T. Bolin using Pan-STARRS |
| Discovery date | 27 August 2013 |
| Designations | |
Alternative names | P/2013 P5 (PANSTARRS) or Jasurbek |
Minor planet category | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 16 November 2013 (JD 2456612.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 13.13 yr (4,797 d) |
| Earliest precovery date | 17 January 2005 |
| Aphelion | 2.4411 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9362 AU |
Semi-major axis | 2.1885 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.11530 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 3.24 yr (1182.575d) |
Average orbital speed | 0.3044°/d |
Mean anomaly | 314.07° |
| Inclination | 4.9685° |
Longitude of ascending node | 279.29° |
| 2024-Jan-01 | |
| 144.26° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | ~480 meters (1,570 ft) |
Mean density | 3300±200 kg/m3 |
| ~0.240 meters (9.4 in) per second | |
Three-dimensional models constructed by Jessica Agarwal of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Lindau, Germany, showed that the tails could have formed by a series of periodic impulsive dust-ejection events, radiation pressure from the Sun then stretched the dust into streams.
Precovery images from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from 2005 were found, showing negligible cometary activity in 2005.