Discovery date August 9, 1996 Aphelion 511.78 AU (76.561 Tm) | MPC designation 1996 PW Observation arc 506 days (1.39 yr) | |
Discovered by NEAT automated search camera from Haleakalā, Hawaii | ||
1996 PW is a small Solar System body on an orbit typical of long-period comets but that has shown no sign of cometary activity around the time it was discovered. Simulations indicate that it has most likely come from the Oort cloud, with a roughly equal probability of being an extinct comet and a rocky body that was originally scattered into the Oort cloud. The discovery of 1996 PW prompted theoretical research that suggests that roughly 1 to 2 percent of the Oort cloud objects are rocky.
1996 PW was discovered on 1996 August 9 by the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) automated search camera on Haleakalā, Hawaii. It is the first object that is not an active comet discovered on an orbit typical of long-period comets.
1996 PW has a rotation period of 35.44 ± 0.02 h and a double-peaked lightcurve with an amplitude of 0.44 ± 0.03 mag. Its spectrum is moderately red and featureless, typical of D-type asteroids and bare comet nuclei. Its spectrum suggests an extinct comet. The upper limit on 1996 PW's dust production is 0.03 kg/s.