LARGE PARTICLES IN ACTIVE ASTEROID P/2010 A2

The previously unknown asteroid P/2010 A2 rose to prominence in 2010 by forming a transient, comet-like tail consisting of ejected dust. The observed dust production was interpreted as the result of either a hypervelocity impact with a smaller body or a rotational disruption. We have re-observed this object, finding that large particles remain a full orbital period after the initial outburst. In the intervening years, particles smaller than similar to 3 mm in radius have been dispersed by radiation pressure, leaving only larger particles in the trail. Since the total mass is dominated by the largest particles, the radiation pressure filtering allows us to obtain a more reliable estimate of the debris mass than was previously possible. We find that the mass contained in the debris is similar to 5 x 10(8) kg (assumed density 3000 kg m(-3)), the ratio of the total debris mass to the nucleus mass is similar to 0.1, and that events like P/2010 A2 contribute <3% to the Zodiacal dust production rate. Physical properties of the nucleus and debris are also determined.