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Title: Discovery of Jupiter Family Comet 2011 UG 104 Through AI Enhanced Citizen Science
Abstract We report the discovery of cometary activity from minor planet 2011 UG104, which we classify as a Jupiter Family Comet (JFC). This discovery was aided by our Artificial Intelligence (AI) classification system:TailNet. JFC's, short-period comets with eccentric Jupiter-crossing orbits, originate from the Kuiper Belt and thus give us unique insight into the composition and distribution of volatiles in the outer solar system, past and present. Our AI assistantTailNetfirst classified 2011 UG104as active, which was affirmed by Citizen Scientists on our NASA Partner ProgramActive Asteroids. Through further archival image searches our science team found evidence of activity on 2011 UG104on three separate observations from 2021 February to 2021 April (81.°8 < f < 95.°0).   more » « less
Award ID(s):
1950901
PAR ID:
10610707
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
IOP
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Research Notes of the AAS
Volume:
8
Issue:
5
ISSN:
2515-5172
Page Range / eLocation ID:
140
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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