By Helen Usher

Children from four Welsh primary schools who are helping astronomers study a strange solar system object are now very excited to see their observations featured in a research paper recently published in the prestigious Astrophysical Journal.

They are part of an innovative science education project called ‘Comet Chasers’ which links schools with professional comet scientists and amateur observers, around the world.  Working with the Faulkes Telescope Project, schools have been observing and measuring the asteroid 2005 QN173 which developed an unusually long tail, a very rare behaviour normally only associated with an icy comet.

Children from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Bridgend, Ynysowen Community School, and Mount Street School in Brecon made research observations using the 2-metre Faulkes Telescope North in Hawaii.  Montgomery Church in Wales School in Powys is helping with the ongoing observations.  The specific observation parameters were agreed with Dr Henry Hsieh from the Planetary Science Institute in the USA, who is leading an international study of this strange object.

Dr Hsieh is the lead author on the new paper, with the Comet Chasers team as some of the co-authors. Dr Hsieh is very grateful for the data provided by the young Welsh astronomers: “The Faulkes Telescope observations collected by the Comet Chasers students really helped our study thanks to some of the unique capabilities of the telescope, and the speed of response to requests for observations”, he said. “We’re very happy to have these students and their teachers and mentors be able to make real contributions to this research and are looking forward to continuing working with Comet Chasers students in the coming year.”

Mr. Wooding is a teaching assistant at St Mary’s, Bridgend, and is a co-author on the research paper.  He commented “The children at St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School are very excited to play a part in the data collection for asteroid-comet 248370. We’re very grateful to Helen Usher and the Comet Chasers project for giving our children the opportunity to undertake real science using professional astronomical equipment for the collection and analysis of important and significant data.“

The children at Ynysowen said they loved every minute of the Comet Chasers project.  “Having total control of a big telescope was so much fun”. They were so excited to see the observations they have made being used for finding out more about this strange object, and particularly seeing their school’s name in the paper!

The newly published research reveals more details of this intriguing object, now re-classified as a Main Belt Comet (Comet 433P) as it shares characteristics of both a Main Belt asteroid and an icy comet. Discovered in 2005, it appeared to be a typical asteroid in the Main Belt of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter – looking like a moving, star-like point of light.  But this year its appearance was completely different, as it developed a thin straight tail. Such objects are rare – only 20 have been observed so far.

These objects are interesting because a substantial part of Earth’s water is thought to have been delivered via asteroid impacts when the Earth was being formed. The observed activity of these objects means they are likely to still contain ice. They therefore offer a way to test this hypothesis and to learn more about the origins of life on Earth. We are learning more about the abundance, distribution, and physical properties of icy objects in the inner Solar System.

The research suggests that the nucleus of 433P is about 3.2 km across and is surrounded by a dust cloud. In the children’s observations, the tail was measured as over 720,000km long, but just 1,400km wide.  The narrow tail tells scientists that the dust is barely floating off the nucleus at very slow speeds.  The flow of gas (which usually is the cause of dust escaping a comet) is very weak, which raises questions for future study: ‘What is causing the dust to escape?’ ‘Is it a fast-rotating object flinging off material from its surface?’.  The Welsh Comet Chasers are continuing to make observations, and so they will be helping to try to solve these mysteries too.

There is more excitement to come too.  The Comet Chasers schools are observing other comets for different research projects, including the BAA/Richard Miles Mission 29P observing campaign. And two further research papers are already being drafted using Comet Chasers observations. 

The schools also stand ready to respond quickly to requests for observations for new objects or where unusual activity is noted.  Their quick access to the large telescopes of the Las Cumbres Observatory network of telescopes, through the Faulkes Telescope Project, really aids professional researchers who usually have to plan observations months in advance.  The collaborations are certainly proving fruitful for everyone.

The project is about much more than just the scientific output though.  The Comet Chasers team has been providing educational resources and hands-on support to teaching staff, allowing them to use the ‘Wow’ factor of space to engage and inspire learning across the curriculum.   The enthusiasm of the teaching staff in each school, along with the support of BAA members, has been key to the project’s success so far.

The team would be very happy for other schools to join the Comet Chasers project too!  Contact Helen Usher, helen.usher@open.ac.uk for more information.