File:A Centaur in Transition.jpg

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DescriptionA Centaur in Transition.jpg	English: The blazing bright ball slicing through the center of this image is an example of a type of celestial body known as a centaur— a Solar System object that can be like both a comet and an asteroid. These fast moving icy objects reside in unstable orbits in the space between Jupiter and Neptune. The centaur in this image is named P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS), or LD2 for short. LD2 was observed from Gemini North, the Hawai‘i-basedhalf of the international Gemini Observatory, which is a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. Español: La brillante bola que atraviesa el centro de esta imagen es un ejemplo de un tipo de cuerpo celeste conocido como centauro: un objeto del Sistema Solar que puede ser un cometa o un asteroide al mismo tiempo. Estos objetos helados y de movimiento rápido se encuentran en órbitas inestables en el espacio entre Júpiter y Neptuno. El centauro que se ve en esta imagen se llama P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) o LD2 para abreviar. LD2 se observó desde el telescopio Gemini Norte, en Hawai'i, que es parte del Observatorio internacional Gemini, un Programa del NOIRLab de NSF.
Date	9 December 2020
Source	https://noirlab.edu/public/images/iotw2050a/
Author	International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgments: PI: C.Schambeau (University of Central Florida) Image Processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin

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	Date/Time	Thumbnail	Dimensions	User	Comment
current	19:01, 18 January 2021		2,146 × 1,551 (322 KB)	Pandreve	Uploaded a work by International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgments: PI: C.Schambeau (University of Central Florida) Image Processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin from https://noirlab.edu/public/images/iotw2050a/ with UploadWizard

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P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS)

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Credit/Provider	International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgments: PI: C.Schambeau (University of Central Florida)Image Processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin
Source	NSF's NOIRLab
Short title	A Centaur in Transition
Image title	The blazing bright ball slicing through the center of this image is an example of a type of celestial body known as a centaur— a Solar System object that can be like both a comet and an asteroid. These fast moving icy objects reside in unstable orbits in the space between Jupiter and Neptune. The centaur in this image is named P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS), or LD2 for short. LD2 was observed from Gemini North, the Hawai‘i-basedhalf of the international Gemini Observatory, which is a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. LD2 is on the cusp of an important transition — it is the first centaur to be seen in the process of changing into a comet-like state. It is slowly being nudged closer and closer towards the inner Solar System,which is causing its tail to form, and it is on track to move within Jupiter’s orbit in 2063. Once it does, it will cease to be a centaur, and will become a Jupiter Family Comet instead — joining a population of comets orbiting the Sun in less than 20 years and roughly in the same plane as mostof the rest of the Solar System. That astronomers are able to witness LD2’s transition is unique and it is particularly exciting as many astronomers will be able to observe this metamorphosis within their own lifetimes — a fascinating glimpse of astronomy in action.
Usage terms	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Date and time of data generation	07:29, 9 December 2020
Software used	Adobe Photoshop 21.1 (Windows)
File change date and time	01:01, 6 December 2020
Date and time of digitizing	16:40, 1 December 2020
Date metadata was last modified	02:01, 6 December 2020
Unique ID of original document	xmp.did:5be780ea-e212-494c-95b0-69e97e91f6dc
Keywords	P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS)
Contact information	https://noirlab.edu 950 North Cherry Ave. Tucson, AZ, 85719 USA
IIM version	4

File:A Centaur in Transition.jpg

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9 December 2020

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