A comet among the near-earth asteroids?

Abstract

Using available optical and radar observations, orbital solutions have been computed for 12 near-earth asteroids identified as possible extinct comets. For 10 of these objects, there is no evidence for the nongravitational effects that might indicate residual outgassing activity. For 1862 Apollo and 1566 Icarus, the inclusion of cometlike nongravitational effects in their equations of motion significantly reduces their RMS residuals and flattens their systematic residual trends. For Icarus in particular, the determined radial nongravitational parameter retains the same value when different datasets are employed and the predictive capability of the orbits is improved. While these results do not prove that 1566 Icarus is a comet masquerading as an asteroid, future apparitions of this object should be monitored for possible cometlike activity.