Image Details
Caption: Figure 2.
Gemini-N GMOS images of 450P. The top left and top middle panels display the recovery images when the Centaur appeared inactive and that were used to estimate the nucleus’s radius. The top right and bottom left panels display the g﹩{}^{{\prime} }﹩ and i﹩{}^{{\prime} }﹩ images, respectively, when the Centaur also appeared inactive and that were used to measure the nucleus’s surface color. The bottom middle and bottom right panels display the images where 450P first exhibited a small elongated dust coma. Each panel spans 30″ × 30″, includes an image scale bar, and is oriented with J2000 equatorial north up and east to the left. The sky-plane projected directions of the Sun and 450P’s velocity are indicated by the white arrows (the appearance of a single white arrow in the bottom middle panel is due to the alignment of the Sun and 450P velocities).
© 2026. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.