Search for the comet activity of 107P/(4015) wilson-harrington during the 2009/2010 apparition

Abstract

We present the optical observations of the Near Earth Object 107P/(4015) Wilson-Harrington during the 2009/2010 apparition taken in search of low-level comet activity. Our photometric and spectroscopic data were collected 28-86 days after the perihelion passage on 2009 October 22 in a wide range of solar phase angles of 39°-68°. A disk-integrated phase function was constructed, giving a geometric albedo of 0.055 ± 0.012, phase integral of q = 0.34, and Bond albedo of AB = 0.019. The photometric property shows a profile similar to low albedo asteroids and comet nuclei. No emission lines were found in our spectrum, giving a flat reflectance similar to low albedo asteroids. Although we could not find any evidence for cometary activity in our photometric and spectroscopic data, we found an upper limit of 0.001% on the fractional active area. We derived the upper limit of the optical depth of the dust trail and tail, 7 × 10-10. We conclude that 107P/(4015) Wilson-Harrington was completely dormant or inactive in the 2009/2010 return. © 2011 The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.