For the first time ever, a comet has been witnessed near Jupiter’s ancient asteroids called Trojans that orbit the sun along with the Gas Giant. The young object, which has been named P/2019 LD2 (or LD2), belongs to a group of icy bodies called Centaurs that are located between Jupiter and Neptune. When Centaurs get closer to the sun, they heat up and become more like a comet.
LD2 is thought to be part of the “bucket brigade” of comets that have been kicked out of the Kuiper Belt by collisions with other objects and sent flying towards Jupiter.