Work

Assessing the Potential Visibility of Comets like C/2025 R2 (SWAN) by NEO Surveyor

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: We investigate the potential detectability of the newly discovered and close-approaching long-period comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) by NEO Surveyor using the NEO Surveyor Survey Simulator (nss). The comet, with a minimum orbital intersection distance with Earth of 0.047 au, was discovered just one month before its closest-approach to Earth and a few days after its perihelion. We simulate “bare nuclei” test objects without cometary activity and find that NEO Surveyor, if the mission were currently operating, may have discovered C/2025 R2 90–150 days before perihelion for a nucleus with diameter d ≥ 0.6 km. This range would represent a multi-month improvement over the real-life timeline. These results highlight NEO Surveyor’s capabilities to provide early-warning for close-approaching comets, complement ground-based surveys, and enable long-term monitoring of cometary activity, all of which are crucial for planetary defense and solar system science.

Source: Research Notes of the AAS

DOI: 10.3847/2515-5172/ae0f12

Authors: W. Garrett Levine, Yoonyoung Kim, Timothy B. Spahr, Tyler Linder, Yanga R. Fernández, Paul A. Abell, William F. Bottke, Serina Diniega, Joseph R. Masiero, Amy K. Mainzer

Institutions: University of California, Los Angeles, University of Central Florida, Johnson Space Center, Southwest Research Institute, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Infrared Processing and Analysis Center

Language: English

Topic: Astro and Planetary Science

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

OpenAlex ID: W4414921641

FWCI:

Cites: 5

Cited by:

Related to: