arXiv subjects

David Jewitt

Publications and source records attributed to David Jewitt.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Investigation of Split Comet 240P/NEAT

We present time-series observations of the split comet 240P/NEAT near perihelion, obtained using the Nordic Optical Telescope. The brighter component, 240P-A, has an estimated radius in the range 400 m to 600 m, and loses dust at the peak rate 130 kg/s. The ejected dust has characteristic size 50 micron, is expelled sunward at 25 m/s, with a total ejected mass in the period of observation 1.5x10^9 kg. Mass loss from the fainter component, 240P-B, peaks at 35 kg/s and the total ejected mass was 2.3x10^8 kg. The radius of 240P-B is uncertain, with a best estimate about 300 m and an absolute lower limit 50 m. 240P-A and 240P-B are currently separating at about 1 m/s, a speed that is likely accelerating as a result of differential outgassing forces, and have a separation age over 3 years. The splitting of 240P is incompatible with the action of tides, impact, and internal pressure build up. 240P fits a developing picture, in which small comets are destroyed by rotational instabilities triggered by outgassing torques, an explanation that can be tested in 240P by future observations.

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arXiv2026

Reversal of Spin: Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak

The rotations of cometary nuclei are known to change in response to outgassing torques. The nucleus of comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak exhibited particularly dramatic rotational changes when near perihelion in 2017 April. Here, we use archival Hubble Space Telescope observations from 2017 December to study the post-perihelion lightcurve of the nucleus and to assess the nucleus size. From both Hubble photometry and non-gravitational acceleration measurements we find a diminutive nucleus with effective radius r = 500+/-100 m. Systematic optical variations are consistent with a two-peaked (i.e., rotationally symmetric) lightcurve with period 0.60+/-0.01 days, substantially different from periods measured earlier in 2017. The spin of the nucleus likely reversed between perihelion in 2017 April and December as a result of the strong outgassing torque. We infer a dimensionless moment arm k = 0.013, about twice the median value in short-period comets. The lightcurve range of 0.4 magnitudes indicates a projected nucleus axis ratio greater than 1.4:1, while the active fraction of the nucleus decreased from 2.4 in 2001 (suggesting augmentation of the gas production by sublimating coma ice grains) to 0.14 in 2017, a result of long-term modification of the surface. We find that the physical lifetime of this small nucleus to spin-up is short compared to the reported 1500 year dynamical time spent in the current orbit. Two limiting reconciliations of this inequality are suggested. The nucleus could be in a state of unusually strong activity, leading us to over-estimate the average mass loss rate and outgassing torque and so to under-estimate the physical lifetime. Alternatively, the nucleus could be the surviving remnant of a once larger body for which outgassing torques were less effective in changing the spin.

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arXiv2026

Nucleus and Postperihelion Activity of Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Observed by Hubble Space Telescope

We report the detection of the nucleus of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, using a nucleus extraction technique on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations taken between December 2025 and January 2026. The product of the V-band geometric albedo, $p_V$, with the physical cross-section of the nucleus is $0.22 \pm 0.07$ km$^{2}$, which corresponds to an effective radius of $1.3 \pm 0.2$ km if assuming a comet-like albedo $p_{V} = 0.04$. This size is in agreement with an independent estimate based on the reported nongravitational acceleration and activity of the interstellar object. If the measured photometric variations are solely due to the rotation of an aspherical nucleus, the axis ratio must be $2:1$ or greater, and the rotation period $\gtrsim\!1$ hr. Leveraging the range of covered phase angles, we identified a significant opposition surge of $\sim\!0.2$ mag with a width of $3^{\circ} \pm 1^{\circ}$, which may include concurrent contributions from orbital plane crossing and tail projection, and determined a linear phase slope of $0.026 \pm 0.006$ mag degree$^{-1}$ for the coma dust. Compared to the preperihelion brightening trend, 3I faded more rapidly on the outbound leg, following an activity index of $4.5 \pm 0.3$, not unusual in the context of solar system comets. This activity asymmetry is further corroborated by a postperihelion coma surface brightness profile that is significantly shallower than its preperihelion counterpart. From discovery statistics, we infer that multiple interstellar objects resembling 3I probably went undetected prior to the discovery of 1I/`Oumuamua, unless the overall population possesses a steep size distribution.

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arXiv2025

Pre-perihelion Development of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

We describe pre-perihelion optical observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS taken during July - September 2025 using the Nordic Optical Telescope. Fixed aperture photometry of the comet is well described by a power law function of heliocentric distance, rH, with the exponent (``index") n = 3.8+/-0.3 across the 4.6 au to 1.8 au distance range (phase function 0.04+/-0.02 magnitude/degree assumed). This indicates that the dust production rates vary in proportion to rH**(-1.8+/-0.3). An rH**(-2) variation is expected of a strongly volatile material, and consistent with independent spectroscopic observations showing that carbon dioxide is the primary driver of activity. The measured heliocentric index is unremarkable in the context of solar system comets, for which n is widely dispersed, and provides no basis on which to describe 3I as either dynamically old (thermally processed) or new (pristine). The morphology of the comet changes from a Sun-facing dust fan in the early 2025 July observations, to one dominated by an antisolar dust tail at later dates. We attribute the delayed emergence of the tail to the large size (effective radius 0.1 mm) and slow ejection (5 m/s) of the optically dominant dust particles, and their consequently sluggish response to solar radiation pressure. Small (micron-sized) particles may be present but not in numbers sufficient to dominate the scattering cross-section. Their relative depletion possibly reflects interparticle cohesion, which binds small particles more effectively than large ones. A similar preponderance of 0.1 mm grains was reported in 2I/Borisov. However, 2I differed from 3I in having a much smaller (asteroid-like) heliocentric index, n = 1.9+/-0.1. Dust production rates in 3I are 180 kg/s at 2 au, compared with 70 kg/s in 2I/Borisov at the same distance.

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arXiv2025

Hubble Space Telescope Observations of the Interstellar Interloper 3I/ATLAS

We present high angular resolution observations of the third known interstellar interloper, 3I/ATLAS, from the Hubble Space Telescope. The object is clearly active at 3.8 au pre-perihelion, showing dust emitted from the hot Sun-facing side of the nucleus and a weak, radiation pressure swept tail away from the Sun. We apply a simple model to estimate the mass loss rate in dust as dM/dt = 12 sqrt(a) kg/s, where a is the mean particle size in microns. With 1 < a < 100, we infer dM/dt = 12 to 120 kg/s. A fit to the surface brightness distribution of the inner coma limits the effective radius of the nucleus to be r < 2.8 km, assuming red geometric albedo 0.04. Conversely, the nucleus cannot be smaller than 0.22 km in radius if its coma is supplied by sublimation of carbon monoxide, and must be larger if a less volatile molecule drives the mass loss.

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arXiv2025

Multiple Outbursts of Halley-Type Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks

We present optical observations of Halley type comet 12P/Pons-Brooks on its approach to perihelion. The comet was active even in the first observations at about 8 au. Starting at 4 au, 12P exhibited an extraordinary series of outbursts, in which the brightness changed by a factor up to 100 and the coma morphology transformed under the action of radiation pressure into a distinctive ``horned'' appearance. Individual outburst dust masses are several x 1e9 kg, with kinetic energies 1e14 J, release times 1e4 s and effective power 1e10 W. These properties are most consistent with, although do not definitively establish, an origin by the crystallization of amorphous water ice with the related release of trapped supervolatile gases. This interpretation is supported by the observation that the specific outburst energy and the specific crystallization energy are comparable (both near 1e5 J kg/s.

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arXiv2025

Continuous Fragmentation of Comet 157P/Tritton

We observed the split comet 157P/Tritton in October - November 2022 and January 2024 with the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT). Our observations show that the splitting continued during the entire observing campaign. Fragmentation was associated with outbursts, consistent with the action of outgassing torques that spun up the nucleus and its fragments to the point of rotational instability. The outburst-fragmentation events can lead to a runaway process where the increasing spin rate, driven by outgassing torques, results in repeated mass loss, until the sublimating body completely disintegrates.

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arXiv2024

Demise of Kreutz Sungrazing Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS)

Most Kreutz family sungrazing comets are discovered only days before perihelion, severely limiting observational opportunities to study their physical nature and decay. Kreutz sungrazer C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) was discovered a month before reaching its perihelion distance of 0.008 au, allowing physical observations from both ground- and space-based telescopes. We present observations from 0.9 au to 0.4 au using the Nordic Optical Telescope showing that 1) nucleus disintegration was on-going already at 0.7 au pre-perihelion, 2) the activity varied unpredictably with distance and 3) the nucleus radius was $<$600 m (red geometric albedo 0.04 assumed). We also use coronagraphic observations from the STEREO-A spacecraft to study C/2024 S1 at heliocentric distances $\lesssim$0.1 au. We find that the coma scattering cross-section peaked near 0.075 au and faded progressively, by a factor $\sim$20, towards the last observation at 0.02 au. We interpret the near-perihelion fading as a result of the sublimation of refractory coma grains, beginning at blackbody temperatures $\sim$1000 K, consistent with olivine composition. The comet was not detected after perihelion. We consider processes operating to destroy the nucleus when near perihelion, concluding that rotational instability and sublimation losses work together towards this end, even before entry of the comet into the Roche lobe of the Sun.

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arXiv2024

Non-Gravitational Forces in Planetary Systems

Non-gravitational forces play surprising and, sometimes, centrally important roles in shaping the motions and properties of small planetary bodies. In the solar system, the morphologies of comets, the delivery of meteorites and the shapes and dynamics of asteroids are all affected by non-gravitational forces. In exoplanetary systems and debris disks, non-gravitational forces affect the lifetimes of circumstellar particles and feed refractory debris to the photospheres of the central stars. Unlike the gravitational force, which is a simple function of the well known separations and masses of bodies, the non-gravitational forces are frequently functions of poorly known or even unmeasurable physical properties. Here, we present order-of-magnitude descriptions of non-gravitational forces, with examples of their application.

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arXiv2024

Interstellar Objects in the Solar System

1I/`Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov are the first macroscopic interstellar objects to be detected in the solar system. Their discovery has triggered a tsunami of scientific interest regarding the physical properties, dynamics and origin of the so-called interstellar interloper population. While it is clear that a deep understanding of these issues cannot be reached from a sample of just two bodies, the emergence of this new field of astronomical study is particularly fascinating, with ramifications from planetary science to galactic dynamics.

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arXiv2023

The Wagging Plasma Tail of Comet C/2020 S3 (Erasmus)

Long-period comet C/2020 S3 (Erasmus) reached perihelion at 0.398 au on UT 2020 December 12.67, making it a bright, near-Sun object. Images taken between mid-November and December 2020 using the HI-1 camera and COR2 coronagraph onboard STEREO-A, as well as the LASCO/C3 coronagraph onboard SoHO, show significant variations in the plasma tail position angles. To analyze these variations, a simple technique was developed to calculate the aberration angles. These angles are defined as the angle between the sun-comet line and the tail axis, measured in the orbital plane. The aberration angles were found to range from $1.2^\circ$ to $46.8^\circ$, with an average (median) value of approximately $20.3^\circ$ ($16.3^\circ$). By considering the aberration angles, the solar wind radial velocities during the observations were inferred to range from 73.9 km/s to 573.5 km/s, with mean (median) values of approximately 205.5 km/s (182.3 km/s). Throughout the observations, two periods were identified where the tails showed forward tilting, which cannot be explained by aberration alone. In one case, this anomalous position angle was sustained for at least 11 days and is possibly due to co-rotating interaction regions. In the other case, the tail exhibited dramatic excursions from 180$^\circ$ to 150$^\circ$ back to 210$^\circ$ over a limited period of around 34 hours. This behavior is tentatively explained as a consequence of the interaction with a halo Coronal Mass Ejection that was launched from NOAA 12786 and arrived at comet C/2020 S3 during the time when the tail displayed its wagging behavior.

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arXiv2023

A Single Ejection Model of the DART/Dimorphos Debris Trail

The collision of the NASA DART spacecraft with asteroid Dimorphos resulted in the formation of a distinctive and long-lived debris trail, formed by the action of solar radiation pressure on ejected particles. This trail briefly displayed a double appearance, which has been interpreted as the result of a double ejection. We present a model which can produce a transient double trail without the need to assume a double ejection. Our model explains the appearance of the double trail as a projection of the cone walls when viewed from a large angle to the cone axis and avoids the problem of producing dust in two epochs from a single, instantaneous impact. The particles follow a broken power-law size distribution, with differential indices q = 2.7+/-0.2 (1 um <= a <= 2 mm), 3.9+/-0.1 (2 mm < a <= 1 cm), and 4.2+/-0.2 (1 cm < a <= 20 cm). We find that the total trail mass in particles from 1 um to 20 cm in size (for an assumed density 3500 kg/m3) is ~1.7e7 kg, rising to 2.2e7 kg, when extended to boulders up to 3.5 m in radius. This corresponds to 0.4-0.6% of the mass of Dimorphos.

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arXiv2023

Physical Properties of the Young Asteroid Pair 2010 UM26 and 2010 RN221

The main belt asteroids 458271 (2010 UM26) and 2010 RN221 share almost identical orbital elements and currently appear as comoving objects 30 arcsec apart in the plane of the sky. They are products of the breakup of a parent object, or the splitting of a binary, with a separation age measured in decades rather than thousands or millions of years as for most other asteroid pairs (Vokrouhlicky et al.~2022). The nature of the precursor body and the details of the breakup and separation of the components are unknown. We obtained deep, high resolution imaging using the Hubble Space Telescope to characterize the pair and to search for material in addition to the main components that might have been released upon breakup. The primary and secondary have absolute magnitudes $H$ = 17.98 and 19.69, respectively, and effective diameters 760 m and 350 m (assuming geometric albedo 0.20). The secondary/primary mass ratio is 0.1, assuming equal densities. Time-series photometry shows that the primary rotates with period 5.9 hour and has a small photometric range (0.15 magnitudes), while the period of the secondary is undetermined (but >20 hours) and its lightcurve range is at least 1 magnitude. The primary rotation period and component mass ratio are consistent with a simple model for the breakup of a rotationally unstable precursor. However, unlike other observationally supported instances of asteroid breakup, neither macroscopic fragments nor unresolved material are found remaining in the vicinity of this asteroid pair. We suggest that the pair is a recently dissociated binary, itself formed earlier by rotational instability of 2010 UM26.

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arXiv2023

The Dimorphos Boulder Swarm

We present deep Hubble Space Telescope images taken to examine the ejecta from the DART spacecraft impact into asteroid Dimorphos. The images reveal an extensive population of co-moving boulders, the largest of which is about 7 m in diameter (geometric albedo 0.15 assumed). Measurements of 37 boulders show a mean sky-plane velocity dispersion of 0.30+/-0.03 m/s, only slightly larger than the 0.24 m/s gravitational escape velocity from the Didymos/Dimorphos binary system. The total boulder mass, 5e6 kg (density 2200 kg/m3 assumed), corresponds to about 0.1 percent of the mass of Dimorphos and the boulders collectively carry about 3e-5 of the kinetic energy delivered by the DART spacecraft impact. The sky-plane distribution of the boulders is asymmetric, consistent with impact into an inhomogeneous, likely rubble-pile, body. Surface boulder counts on Didymos show that the observed boulder swarm could be ejected from as little as 2 percent of the surface of Dimorphos (for example a circular crater at the impact point about 50 m in diameter). The large, slow-moving boulders are potential targets to be investigated in-situ by the upcoming ESA HERA mission.

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arXiv2023

Comet 108P/Ciffreo: The Blob

Short-period comet 108P/Ciffreo is known for its peculiar double morphology, in which the nucleus is accompanied by a co-moving, detached, diffuse 'blob'. We report new observations of 108P/Ciffreo taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Nordic Optical Telescope and use them to determine the cause of this unusual morphology. The separation and the longevity of the blob across several orbits together rule out the possibility of a single, slow-moving secondary object near the primary nucleus. We use a model of coma particle dynamics under the action of solar gravity and radiation pressure to show that the blob is an artifact of the turn-around of particles ejected sunward and repelled by sunlight. Numerical experiments limit the range of directions which can reproduce the morphology and explain why the co-moving blob appearance is rare.

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arXiv2023

Disintegration of Long-Period Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard)

We present imaging observations of the disintegrating long-period comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard). High resolution observations with Hubble Space Telescope show no evidence for surviving fragments, and place a 3 sigma upper limit to their possible radius about 60 m (albedo 0.1 assumed). In contrast, wide field observations from the Swan Hill Observatory, Australia, show an extensive debris cloud, the cross-section and estimated mass of which are consistent with complete disintegration of the nucleus near mid- December 2021 (at about 0.8 au). Two methods give the pre-disruption nucleus radius, r = 0.6+/-0.2 km. Tidal, collisional, sublimation and pressure-confined explosion models provide implausible explanations of the disintegration. However, rotational instability driven by outgassing torques has a very short timescale (of order 0.1 year) given the orbit and size of the C/2021 A1 nucleus, and offers the most plausible mechanism for the disruption. Initial rotational breakup is accelerated by the exposure and strong sublimation of previously buried volatiles, leading to catastrophic destruction of the nucleus.

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arXiv2022

Fragment Dynamics in Active Asteroid 331P/Gibbs

We present a dynamical analysis of the fragmented active asteroid 331P/Gibbs. Using archival images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope from 2015 to 2018, we measured the astrometry of the primary and the three brightest (presumably the largest) components. Conventional orbit determination revealed a high-degree of orbital similarity between the components. We then applied a fragmentation model to fit the astrometry, obtaining key parameters including the fragmentation epochs and separation velocities. Our best-fit models show that Fragment B separated from the primary body at a speed of $\sim$1 cm s$^{-1}$ between 2011 April and May, whereas two plausible scenarios were identified for Fragments A and C. The former split either from the primary or from Fragment B, in 2011 mid-June at a speed of $\sim$8 cm s$^{-1}$, and the latter split from Fragment B either in late 2011 or between late 2013 and early 2014, at a speed of $\sim$0.7-0.8 cm s$^{-1}$. The results are consistent with rotational disruption as the mechanism causing the cascading fragmentation of the asteroid, as suggested by the rapid rotation of the primary. The fragments constitute the youngest known asteroid cluster, providing us with a great opportunity to study asteroid fragmentation and formation of asteroid clusters.

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arXiv2022

The Interstellar Interlopers

Interstellar interlopers are bodies formed outside of the solar system but observed passing through it. The first two identified interlopers, 1I/`Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, exhibited unexpectedly different physical properties. 1I/`Oumuamua appeared unresolved and asteroid-like whereas 2I/Borisov was a more comet-like source of both gas and dust. Both objects moved under the action of non-gravitational acceleration. These interlopers and their divergent properties provide our only window so far onto an enormous and previously unknown galactic population. The number density of such objects is $\sim$ 0.1 AU$^{-3}$ which, if uniform across the galactic disk, would imply 10$^{25}$ to 10$^{26}$ similar objects in the Milky Way. The interlopers likely formed in, and were ejected from, the protoplanetary disks of young stars. However, we currently possess too little data to firmly reject other explanations.

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