A team of space scientists and citizen scientists have discovered an object in the night sky that lies on the boundary between comets and asteroids. The object, referred to as 2009 DQ118, showed clear signs of comet behavior when observed by citizen scientists in 2016. Further observations from professional telescopes confirmed the discovery of the object’s second activity epoch.
The discovery was made by citizen scientists who registered the object with the Active Asteroids project, where it came to the attention of the research team. The research team named the object quasi-Hilda 2009 DQ118. The Hildas are a band of comets and asteroids that exist between the Trojans and the main asteroid belt. The object found by the citizen scientists was not a true Hilda asteroid, hence its quasi title.
Detailed orbital integration and comparison with other celestial bodies revealed that 2009 DQ118 shares similarities with other quasi-Hildas, suggesting that it lies on the boundary between comets and asteroids.
The discovery is significant as it highlights the important role that citizen scientists play in contributing to space science. This finding also contributes to our understanding of celestial bodies that exhibit characteristics of both comets and asteroids. The team’s work has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, adding to the body of scientific knowledge about the object.