313P/Gibbs

Not to be confused with 331P/Gibbs. For other comets of the same name, see Comet Gibbs.

313P/Gibbs
Discovery[1]
Discovered byAlex R. Gibbs
Discovery siteCatalina Sky Survey
Discovery date24 September 2014
Designations
P/2003 S10
P/2014 S4
Gibbs 16[2]
Orbital characteristics[3][4]
Epoch21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Observation arc22 years
Earliest precovery date22 September 2003[5]
Number of
observations		204
Aphelion3.904 AU
Perihelion2.422 AU
Semi-major axis3.163 AU
Eccentricity0.23431
Orbital period5.624 years
Inclination10.981°
105.92°
Argument of
periapsis		254.99°
Mean anomaly357.93°
Last perihelion2 December 2025
Next perihelion2031
TJupiter3.132
Earth MOID1.429 AU
Jupiter MOID1.678 AU
Physical characteristics[6]
Mean radius
0.85 km (0.53 mi)
4 hours[7]
0.05 (assumed)
Comet total
magnitude (M1)		17.1±0.03[8]

313P/Gibbs (P/2014 S4) is an Encke-type comet and active asteroid, discovered by American astronomer Alex Gibbs. It is the third main-belt comet after 133P/Elst–Pizzaro and 238P/Read observed to show mass loss in different orbits.[9]

Observational history

Alex R. Gibbs reported the discovery of this comet as a nearly stellar object with a narrow tail from CCD images taken by the Catalina Sky Survey in 24 September 2014.[1] Shuichi Nakano later identified precovery images of the comet taken as early as September 2003 from the LONEOS and SDSS surveys.[5] It was recovered ahead of its 2020 apparition in August 2019,[10] exhibiting significant non-perihelion activity compared to 2014.[11] The comet was given an official numerical designation in 2017.[12]

Orbit

313P/Gibbs currently orbits at a distance between 2.42–3.9 AU (362–583 million km) from the Sun, within the outer portion of the main asteroid belt.[4] Computations of its orbit reveal that 313P is intrinsically chaotic, with a Lyapunov time of only 12000 years and being located near two three-body mean-motion resonances with Jupiter and Saturn, yet appears stable over 50 million years.[8] Astrometric data analysis shows that 313P is experiencing some transverse non-gravitational acceleration caused by recoil forces due to anisotropic mass loss.[13] It is a member of the Lixiaohua asteroid family,[14] a group of more than 700 asteroids estimated to be around 155 million years old.[15]

Physical characteristics

Nucleus size

Archival imagery from the Subaru Telescope taken in 2004 indicated an upper-limit size of the comet's nucleus to be around 1.00±0.15 km in radius, assuming a geometric albedo of 0.05.[8] Data obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope resulted in a lower-limit of around 0.5–0.7 km in radius.[16] Further observations from the Gemini Observatory in 2017 revised the size estimate to be around 0.85 km (0.53 mi) in radius.[6]

Cometary activity

From its three known apperances since 2003, 313P/Gibbs has consistently shown signs of activity, suggesting that it is likely to be generated from the sublimation of volatile material (ice) from its nucleus.[8] In both the 2003 and 2014 apparitions, dust emissions lasted for at least 3–4 months.[17] Impact driven activity was ruled out, as the mass-loss rate is consistent at 0.2–0.4 kg/s (0.44–0.88 lb/s). The persistent sublimation activity on 313P, along with other active asteroids (133P/Elst–Pizzaro, 238P/Read, and 358P/PanSTARRS), suggests an abundance of ice within the outer asteroid belt.[18] Its water-ice sublimation is non-uniform around perihelion, which is likely related to the seasonal modulation driven by the orientation of its rotational axis.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 A. R. Gibbs; H. Sato (September 2014). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2014 S4 (Gibbs)" (TXT). Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 3991: 1. Bibcode:2014CBET.3991....1G.
  2. ↑ "Periodic Comet Names and Designations". Planetary Data System: Small Body Node. NASA. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "313P/Gibbs – JPL Small-Body Database Lookup". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  4. 1 2 "313P/Gibbs Orbit". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  5. 1 2 S. Nakano; B. A. Skiff; M. E. Van Ness; et al. (September 2014). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet P/2003 S10 = P/2014 S4 (Gibbs)" (TXT). Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 4003: 1. Bibcode:2014CBET.4003....1N.
  6. 1 2 H. H. Hsieh; M. Micheli; M. S. P. Kelley; et al. (2023). "Observational Characterization of Main-belt Comet and Candidate Main-belt Comet Nuclei". Planetary Science Journal. 4 (3): 43–65. arXiv:2302.11689. Bibcode:2023PSJ.....4...43H. doi:10.3847/PSJ/acbdfe.
  7. 1 2 W. Guo; Z. Cai; B. Liu; et al. (2025). "Orientation of the rotation axis and the location of water-ice sublimation activity of the main-belt comet 313P/Gibbs" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 704: 124–134. Bibcode:2025A&A...704A.124G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202556433.
  8. 1 2 3 4 H. H. Hsieh; O. Hainaut; B. Novaković; et al. (2015). "Sublimation-Driven Activity in Main-Belt Comet 313P/Gibbs". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 800 (1): 16–23. arXiv:1501.03873. Bibcode:2015ApJ...800L..16H. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/800/1/L16.
  9. ↑ M. T. Hui; D. C. Jewitt (2015). "Archival Observations of Active Asteroid 313P/Gibbs". The Astronomical Journal. 149 (4): 134–142. Bibcode:2015AJ....149..134H. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/149/4/134.
  10. ↑ H. H. Hsieh; J. Pittichova; P. Prado; et al. (September 2019). D. W. Green (ed.). "Comet 313P/Gibbs" (TXT). Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 4661: 1. Bibcode:2019CBET.4661....1H.
  11. ↑ H. Liang; J. C. Shi; Y. H. Ma (2025). "Secular Light Curve of Main-belt Comets". Acta Astronomica Sinica (in Chinese). 66 (2): 13. Bibcode:2025AcASn..66...13L. doi:10.15940/j.cnki.0001-5245.2025.02.002.
  12. ↑ D. W. Green (January 2017). "Numbering of Short-Period Comets" (TXT). Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 4343: 1. Bibcode:2017CBET.4343....1G.
  13. ↑ M. T. Hui; D. C. Jewitt (2017). "Non-gravitational Acceleration of the Active Asteroids". The Astronomical Journal. 153 (2): 80–89. arXiv:1612.06920. Bibcode:2017AJ....153...80H. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/153/2/80.
  14. ↑ M. N. De Prá; J. Licandro; N. Pinilla-Alonso; et al. (2020). "The spectroscopic properties of the Lixiaohua family, cradle of Main Belt Comets". Icarus. 338 113473. Bibcode:2020Icar..33813473D. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113473.
  15. ↑ B. Novaković; K. Tsiganis; Z. Knezevic. "Dynamical portrait of the Lixiaohua asteroid family" (PDF). Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy. 107 (1–2): 35–49. Bibcode:2010CeMDA.107...35N. doi:10.1007/s10569-010-9263-9.
  16. ↑ D. C. Jewitt; J. Li; J. Agarwal; et al. (2015). "Nucleus and Mass Loss from Active Asteroid 313P/Gibbs". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 76–88. arXiv:1507.01983. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...76J. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/76.
  17. ↑ F. J. Pozuelos; A. Cabrera-Lavers; J. Licandro; F. Moreno (2015). "On the Dust Environment of Main-Belt Comet 313P/Gibbs". The Astrophysical Journal. 806 (1): 102–108. arXiv:1505.01479. Bibcode:2015ApJ...806..102P. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/806/1/102.
  18. ↑ D. C. Jewitt; J. Agarwal; N. Peixinho; et al. (2015). "A New Active Asteroid 313P/Gibbs". The Astronomical Journal. 149 (2): 81–90. arXiv:1412.6582. Bibcode:2015AJ....149...81J. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/149/2/81.
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