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Astronomical Observatory of the Jagiellonian University

Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science
Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland

ul. Orla 171
30-244 Kraków
POLAND
phone

phone: +48 12 6238 620

secretary: +48 12 6238 629

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288P: main-belt comet

Comet 288P, which also bears the designation 2006 VW139, typical of asteroids, belongs to a somewhat strange category of small solar system bodies which falls between comets and asteroids. Objects that make up this group are called Main-belt comets or active asteroids hence their often double designations. Like its marking, the object is also double and is formed by a pair of bodies orbiting each other. In addition both fragments rotate. The team of scientists composed of Wacław Waniak and Michał Drahus from the Astronomical Observatory of the Jagiellonian University observed this intriguing object using two large telescopes working in tandem: Keck II in Hawaii and Gemini-South in Chile. Thanks to the obtained data an analysis of brightness changes over time was carried out.
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