Tails and Trails: Comets and NEOs Survive Co-addition in Rubin Early Data Preview 2

Abstract

We identify effectively single-visit imaging hidden within the deep co-added images of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Early Data Preview 2 (EDP2). These shallow regions contain only one or two contributing visits, providing access to single-visit-depth imaging ahead of the full Data Preview 2 (DP2) release in late 2026. We develop a workflow to locate known small Solar System bodies in these data, using our Ponder orchestrator with the Sorcha survey simulator to predict their positions and the Rubin Science Platform (RSP) to identify shallow coadds and extract image cutouts. Because cometary activity and near-Earth-object (NEO) trails produce extended morphologies, both remain identifiable in these shallow coadds. From approximately 700 comet and active-object cutouts, we identify 59 activity detections spanning 32 objects. We discover activity in 2025 NC6, previously unknown to be active; identify the first reported pre-perihelion activity of 2008 QZ44; and independently rediscover known comets 243P/NEAT and 510P/Boattini through their activity. We also recover 336 NEO cutouts, including 29 with predicted trails longer than 25 pixels. We provide accompanying galleries and tabular data, and highlight 99P/Kowal 1, 510P, and 303P/NEAT as targets for immediate follow-up. Shallow coadds are a relatively unexplored facet of Rubin data with applications beyond the Solar System examples presented here: regions with varying numbers of contributing visits will persist throughout the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).

Efficient Identification and Analysis of Space debris Trails in Time-Domain Astronomy
Sarvesh Kumar Yadav, Bhavya Ailawadhi, Talat Akhunov +10
arXiv3 Nov 2026PreprintCC BY 4.0Full textInstrumentation & methodsarXiv
Sublimation of H ₂ O Molecules from Interstellar and Dynamically New Comets: Case Study of 3I/ATLAS
Evgenij Zubko, Gorden Videen, Sungsoo S. Kim
The Astrophysical Journal21 Oct 2026Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textPlanetary science & exoplanetsCrossref
Towards a coupled activity-fallback model for comets I) 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's water activity from a microphysics model with dynamic dust-depth
Nicholas Attree, Yuri Skorov, Pedro Gutiérrez +4
arXiv9 Oct 2026PreprintarXiv licenceFull textPlanetary science & exoplanetsarXiv
Towards a coupled activity-fallback model for comets I) 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s water activity from a microphysics model with dynamic dust-depth
N Attree, Y Skorov, P Gutiérrez +4
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society10 Oct 2026Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textPlanetary science & exoplanetsCrossref
Rubin J122659.4+090236: An Extremely Low Surface Brightness Galaxy Candidate Discovered in the Rubin LSST Early Data Preview 2
Dipanjan Mitra, Kanak Saha, Sugata Kaviraj +28
arXiv21 Oct 2026PreprintCC BY 4.0Full textGalaxiesarXiv

Cite

BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{chandler2026tails,
  title = {{Tails and Trails: Comets and NEOs Survive Co-addition in Rubin Early Data Preview 2}},
  author = {Colin Orion Chandler and Joseph Murtagh and Ian Chow and Maxine West and A. Fraser Gillan and Peter S. Ferguson and Michael S. P. Kelley and Jacob A. Kurlander and Henry H. Hsieh and Pedro H. Bernardinelli and Wilson Beebe and Jeremy Kubica and Andrew Connolly and James R. A. Davenport},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.30361},
  eprint = {2609.30361},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.30361},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Tails and Trails: Comets and NEOs Survive Co-addition in Rubin Early Data Preview 2
AU  - Colin Orion Chandler
AU  - Joseph Murtagh
AU  - Ian Chow
AU  - Maxine West
AU  - A. Fraser Gillan
AU  - Peter S. Ferguson
AU  - Michael S. P. Kelley
AU  - Jacob A. Kurlander
AU  - Henry H. Hsieh
AU  - Pedro H. Bernardinelli
AU  - Wilson Beebe
AU  - Jeremy Kubica
AU  - Andrew Connolly
AU  - James R. A. Davenport
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/24
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.30361
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.30361
AB  - We identify effectively single-visit imaging hidden within the deep co-added images of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Early Data Preview 2 (EDP2). These shallow regions contain only one or two contributing visits, providing access to single-visit-depth imaging ahead of the full Data Preview 2 (DP2) release in late 2026. We develop a workflow to locate known small Solar System bodies in these data, using our Ponder orchestrator with the Sorcha survey simulator to predict their positions and the Rubin Science Platform (RSP) to identify shallow coadds and extract image cutouts. Because cometary activity and near-Earth-object (NEO) trails produce extended morphologies, both remain identifiable in these shallow coadds. From approximately 700 comet and active-object cutouts, we identify 59 activity detections spanning 32 objects. We discover activity in 2025 NC6, previously unknown to be active; identify the first reported pre-perihelion activity of 2008 QZ44; and independently rediscover known comets 243P/NEAT and 510P/Boattini through their activity. We also recover 336 NEO cutouts, including 29 with predicted trails longer than 25 pixels. We provide accompanying galleries and tabular data, and highlight 99P/Kowal 1, 510P, and 303P/NEAT as targets for immediate follow-up. Shallow coadds are a relatively unexplored facet of Rubin data with applications beyond the Solar System examples presented here: regions with varying numbers of contributing visits will persist throughout the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).
ER  -

Abstract

Related

Cite