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A Main-Belt Comet Keeps Making Dust Past Perihelion
Rubin and Keck observations track P/2026 N2 across 102 days, with activity consistent with prolonged or recurrent production.
Summary
Rubin and Keck observations track P/2026 N2 across 102 days, with activity consistent with prolonged or recurrent production.
P/2026 N2 follows an outer Main Belt orbit but displayed active morphology across perihelion in Rubin Observatory and Keck images spanning 102 days. Keck colors were consistent with nearly neutral B/C-complex reflectance, and geometry-corrected aperture brightness changed by only 0.07 plus or minus 0.07 magnitude between July 9 and October 7. A 5,000-particle integration kept a concentrated Main Belt core for 50 million years. The authors hypothesize that volatile sublimation, possibly water ice, sustains the activity. Archival 2021 imaging recovers the object, but cannot establish whether it was active then.
Why it matters
Rubin and Keck observations track P/2026 N2 across 102 days, with activity consistent with prolonged or recurrent production.
Limits and context
- Keck colors were consistent with nearly neutral B/C-complex reflectance, and geometry-corrected aperture brightness changed by only 0.07 plus or minus 0.07 magnitude between July 9 and October 7.
- Archival 2021 imaging recovers the object, but cannot establish whether it was active then.
Key claims
Rubin and Keck observations track P/2026 N2 across 102 days, with activity consistent with prolonged or recurrent production.
Qualification: Keck colors were consistent with nearly neutral B/C-complex reflectance, and geometry-corrected aperture brightness changed by only 0.07 plus or minus 0.07 magnitude between July 9 and October 7.
Evidence: source-2026-10-18-005
Sources
- arXiv preprint 2610.22354, original v1arXiv · primary research
Corrections
No corrections have been recorded for this story.