Carrie Holt (LCO): "Brightening Trends of Distant Long-Period Comets"

Modern sky surveys are now discovering comets at distances beyond 5 to 10 au from the Sun, a distance that is expected to increase with the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). However, the mechanisms driving comet activity at such distances remain poorly understood, as the temperatures are too low for water ice sublimation, the usual driver closer to the Sun (within 3-5 au). We have been monitoring more than 40 long-period comets discovered inbound beyond 5 au using a network of 1-m telescopes through our Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) Outbursting Objects Key (LOOK) project since August 2020. In this talk, I will present brightening trends of distant long-period comets, highlighting how these findings improve our understanding of the mechanisms driving distant comet activity and the evolutionary differences between dynamically new and returning comets. I’ll also discuss the implications for predicted results from LSST, and ultimately how this will influence target selection for the upcoming ESA Comet Interceptor mission.