Monitoring Cometary Activity of 60P/Tsuchinshan During Its 2018–2019 Apparition

Abstract

Comet 60P/Tsuchinshan is a Jupiter family comet. Since the discovery of 60P/Tsuchinshan, little research for cometary activity has been conducted on this comet, though it has returned to perihelion several times. To study the physical properties and activity characteristic of 60P/Tsuchinshan during its 2018–2019 apparition, we observed 60P/Tsuchinshan with broadband B , V , and R filters from 2018 November to 2019 March by using the 80 cm Yaoan High Precision Telescope at Yaoan Station of Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Morphological analysis and photometric studies of 60P/Tsuchinshan were performed. The color indices, Af ρ values, and dust production rates of 60P/Tsuchinshan were obtained. Morphological analysis showed that the comet was active and several images showed a spiral structure in the inner coma; this structure is regardless of the enhancement methods and cannot be explained by the rotation of 60P. The Af ρ curve showed that the peak activity of 60P/Tsuchinshan was at about 10 days after perihelion. Compared to other Jupiter family comets at similar heliocentric distances, we found that 60P/Tsuchinshan was a very active comet. Dynamical analysis showed that 60P/Tsuchinshan’s perihelion distance was reduced from 1.77 to 1.62 au due to the close encounter with Jupiter that occurred on 2008 December 20; this may increase its activity in the next apparition.

Keywords

• Comets
• Short period comets
• CCD photometry
• Multi-color photometry
• Comet dynamics