It ’s neither an asteroid nor a comet but something in between . It ’s also parked within Jupiter ’s orbital cavity , make this object the first of its kind to ever be discover .
Update , 2025-05-11 , 10:35 a.m. : astronomer have conducted further analysis since this post published , revealing that this object is a genuine comet and not a fellow member of the Jupiter ’s Trojan asteroids . Further coverage can be foundhere .
Say hello to 2019 LD2 , the only participating Jupiter Trojan jazz to scientific discipline . Trojans are a bombastic mathematical group of asteroids located in the same orbital path as Jupiter , and they ’re all drained , inert asteroid — well , except apparently this one , which now boasts a very comet - like tail end , according to apress releaseput out by the University of Hawaii ’s Institute for Astronomy .
Active Trojan asteroid 2019 LD2 as observed on 17 January 2025, using the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope (LCOGT) Network in Chile.Image: (JD Armstrong/IfA/LCOGT)
Small - bodied celestial objects incline to be categorized as either asteroids or comets . asteroid are fairly irksome , but comets — often described as dirty snowball — shed their volatile surface materials when venturing closely to the Sun . This creates a seeable prat and a beam comatoseness around the cell nucleus .
But there ’s a kind of in - between class of object , known as active asteroid . These are asteroids that have dead sprung to living , such as the ego - destructive , wildly spin asteroid ( 6478 ) Gault .
https://gizmodo.com/wildly-spinning-asteroid-caught-in-the-throes-of-self-d-1833647635
Artist’s impression of the Jupiter Trojans (not to scale).Illustration: (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
As its name suggests , 2019 LD2 was discovered last yr , specifically in early June . It was spot by stargazer at University of Hawaii ’s Asteroid planetary - impingement Last Alert System ( ATLAS ) , which is typically used to receive Earth - threatening objects . Sometimes , however , it find harmless astronomical curiosities , like this one .
When 2019 LD2 was first recognize , its fuzzy appearance led to suspicion that it might be a comet or at least comet - like . A collaborating team from Queen ’s University Belfast supported these suspicions . A second set of ATLAS observations in July 2019 strengthened the character , with ikon revealing a faint comet - same backside , probably composed of gas and dust . Observations in previous 2019 and early 2020 show that 2019 LD2 remains active , according to the pressure release .
Active asteroids are rare , but the discovery of an fighting Jupiter Trojan is unprecedented . The gas giant has two monumental cloud of asteroids along its orbital path , one out front and one behind . Jupiter amassed these celestial groupie over a billion years ago , thanks to its tremendous charm , otherwise known as gravity . 2019 LD2 is located in the Trojan chunk ahead of the planet .
This discovery is a piece confusing , because Trojan asteroid , due to their extreme age , should have surfaces sucked dry of volatile materials like pee ice . They should be all in and tedious like the vast bulk of other asteroid , but the find of a lone active Trojan propose something else might be run on — namely the sudden exposure of mystifying materials to the Earth’s surface .
“ We have believed for decade that Trojan asteroids should have with child sum of ice beneath their surfaces , but never had any evidence until now , ” aver Alan Fitzsimmons , an astronomy prof at Queen ’s University Belfast who ’s been studying 2019 LD2 , in the press release . “ ATLAS has show up that the anticipation of their icy nature may well be right . ”
As to how these deeper layers became give away , the target could have experience a landslide or smash into a small asteroid . Another possibility is that this aim only recently joined the Trojan community , having drift in from farther away , where it was able to retain its open volatile . The scientists do n’t acknowledge , but they ’re go to keep their eye on 2019 LD2 .
https://gizmodo.com/nasa-is-sending-a-probe-to-explore-jupiter-s-mysterious-1790803830
Excitingly , NASA will be launching a probe to chaffer the Trojan asteroid . Called Lucy , the spacecraft will investigate a half - dozen Trojans between 2027 and 2033 . This commission will cast off young light on these mysterious object , including their chemic authorship and how they find themselves within Jupiter ’s orbital track .
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