Comets in the Near-Earth Object Population

Details Comets in the Near-Earth Object Population Comets in the Near-Earth Object Population

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.5303d&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #53.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.581

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We report on our ongoing survey of comet-like objects in near-Earth space. Our goal is to determine the fraction of near-Earth objects (NEOs) that likely have a cometary origin, as opposed to an asteroidal origin. Our criteria for "cometary origin” are both dynamical and observational. Dynamically, we require an object to have a Jovian Tisserand parameter Tj < 3. Observationally, the object must either have a low albedo or have spectral characteristics placing it within the C, D, or P taxonomic classes. (Each of these classes is comprised by low albedo objects.) For our observational measurements, we primarily utilize the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) located on Mauna Kea. To date, we have observational measurements sampling 32 objects satisfying the Tj < 3 dynamical criterion. We find that 17 out of 32 (53%) of these Tj < 3 objects have "comet-like” spectra or albedos. Bias corrected discovery statistics (Stuart 2003, MIT Ph.D. thesis; Stuart & Binzel 2004, Icarus 170, 295) estimate 30% of the entire NEO population resides in orbits having Tj < 3. Combining these two factors (0.53 x 0.30 = 0.16) suggests that approximately 16% of the total NEO population has both dynamical and physical properties consistent with a cometary origin.

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