New Activity of Chiron: Results from 5 Years of Photometric Monitoring

The results of photometric observations of Centaur object Chiron carried out at the Observatório do Pico dos Dias (OPD, Brazil), the Estación Astrofı́sica de Bosque Alegre (EABA, Argentina), and Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO, Argentina) from 1997 to 2001 are presented here. The analysis of the photometric data shows that the brightness of Chiron reached a minimum value in 1999 and began increasing again in 2000. The absolute magnitude, HV, varied from 7.26 in June 1999 to 5.78 in April 2001. The data tend to indicate that Chiron is starting a new outburst of activity which is compatible with a sporadic cometary behavior not related to heliocentric distance.