TY - JOUR
T1 - The LCO Outbursting Objects Key Project Overview and Year 1 Status
AU - LOOK Collaboration
AU - Lister, Tim
AU - Kelley, Michael S. P.
AU - Holt, Carrie E.
AU - Hsieh, Henry H.
AU - Bannister, Michele T.
AU - Verma, Aayushi A.
AU - Dobson, Matthew M.
AU - Knight, Matthew M.
AU - Moulane, Youssef
AU - Schwamb, Megan E.
AU - Bodewits, Dennis
AU - Bauer, James
AU - Chatelain, Joseph
AU - Fernández-Valenzuela, Estela
AU - Gardener, Daniel
AU - Gyuk, Geza
AU - Hammergren, Mark
AU - Huynh, Ky
AU - Jehin, Emmanuel
AU - Kokotanekova, Rosita
AU - Lilly, Eva
AU - Hui, Man-To
AU - McKay, Adam
AU - Opitom, Cyrielle
AU - Protopapa, Silvia
AU - Ridden-Harper, Ryan
AU - Schambeau, Charles
AU - Snodgrass, Colin
AU - Stoddard-Jones, Cai
AU - Usher, Helen
AU - Wierzchos, Kacper
AU - Yanamandra-Fisher, Padma A.
AU - Ye, Quanzhi
AU - Gomez, Edward
AU - Greenstreet, Sarah
N1 - 35 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in PSJ
PY - 2022/7/26
Y1 - 2022/7/26
N2 - The LCO Outbursting Objects Key (LOOK) Project uses the telescopes of the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) Network to: (1) to systematically monitor a sample of Dynamically New Comets over the whole sky, and (2) use alerts from existing sky surveys to rapidly respond to and characterize detected outburst activity in all small bodies. The data gathered on outbursts helps to characterize each outburst's evolution with time, assess the frequency and magnitude distribution of outbursts in general, and contributes to the understanding of outburst processes and volatile distribution in the Solar System. The LOOK Project exploits the synergy between current and future wide-field surveys such as ZTF, PanSTARRS, and LSST as well as rapid-response telescope networks such as LCO, and serves as an excellent testbed for what will be needed the much larger number of objects coming from Rubin Observatory. We will describe the LOOK Project goals, the planning and target selection (including the use of NEOexchange as a Target and Observation Manager or "TOM"), and results from the first phase of observations, including the detection of activity and outbursts on the giant comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) and the discovery and follow-up of outbursts on comets. Within these outburst discoveries, we present a high cadence of 7P/Pons-Winnecke with days, a large outburst on 57P/duToit-Neujmin-Delporte, and evidence that comet P/2020 X1 (ATLAS) was in outburst when discovered.
AB - The LCO Outbursting Objects Key (LOOK) Project uses the telescopes of the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) Network to: (1) to systematically monitor a sample of Dynamically New Comets over the whole sky, and (2) use alerts from existing sky surveys to rapidly respond to and characterize detected outburst activity in all small bodies. The data gathered on outbursts helps to characterize each outburst's evolution with time, assess the frequency and magnitude distribution of outbursts in general, and contributes to the understanding of outburst processes and volatile distribution in the Solar System. The LOOK Project exploits the synergy between current and future wide-field surveys such as ZTF, PanSTARRS, and LSST as well as rapid-response telescope networks such as LCO, and serves as an excellent testbed for what will be needed the much larger number of objects coming from Rubin Observatory. We will describe the LOOK Project goals, the planning and target selection (including the use of NEOexchange as a Target and Observation Manager or "TOM"), and results from the first phase of observations, including the detection of activity and outbursts on the giant comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) and the discovery and follow-up of outbursts on comets. Within these outburst discoveries, we present a high cadence of 7P/Pons-Winnecke with days, a large outburst on 57P/duToit-Neujmin-Delporte, and evidence that comet P/2020 X1 (ATLAS) was in outburst when discovered.
KW - astro-ph.EP
KW - astro-ph.IM
U2 - 10.3847/PSJ/ac7a31
DO - 10.3847/PSJ/ac7a31
M3 - Article
VL - 3
SP - 1
EP - 18
JO - The Planetary Science Journal
JF - The Planetary Science Journal
SN - 2632-3338
IS - 7
M1 - 173
ER -