The Geometric Albedo of (4179) Toutatis Estimated from KMTNet DEEP-South Observations

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Bach, Yoonsoo P., Ishiguro, Masateru, Jin, Sunho, Yang, Hongu, Moon, Hong-Kyu, Choi, Young-Jun, JeongAhn, Youngmin, Kim, Myung-Jin, Kwak, SungWon
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2019
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author Bach, Yoonsoo P.
Ishiguro, Masateru
Jin, Sunho
Yang, Hongu
Moon, Hong-Kyu
Choi, Young-Jun
JeongAhn, Youngmin
Kim, Myung-Jin
Kwak, SungWon
author_facet Bach, Yoonsoo P.
Ishiguro, Masateru
Jin, Sunho
Yang, Hongu
Moon, Hong-Kyu
Choi, Young-Jun
JeongAhn, Youngmin
Kim, Myung-Jin
Kwak, SungWon
contents We derive the geometric albedo of a near-Earth asteroid, (4179) Toutatis, to investigate its surface physical conditions. The asteroid has been studied rigorously not only via ground-based photometric, spectrometric, polarimetric, and radar observations but also via \textit{in situ} observation by the Chinese Chang'e-2 space probe; however, its geometric albedo is not well understood. We conducted V-band photometric observations when the asteroid was at opposition in April 2018 using the three telescopes in the southern hemisphere that compose the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet). The observed time-variable cross section was corrected using the radar shape model. We find that Toutatis has a geometric albedo $p_\mathrm{V} = 0.185^{+0.045}_{-0.039} $, which is typical of S-type asteroids. We compare the geometric albedo with archival polarimetric data and further find that the polarimetric slope--albedo law provides a reliable estimate for the albedo of this S-type asteroid. The thermal infrared observation also produced similar results if the size of the asteroid is updated to match the results from Chang'e-2. We conjecture that the surface of Toutatis is covered with grains smaller than that of the near-Sun asteroids including (1566) Icarus and (3200) Phaethon.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_1905_08576
institution arXiv
publishDate 2019
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Geometric Albedo of (4179) Toutatis Estimated from KMTNet DEEP-South Observations
Bach, Yoonsoo P.
Ishiguro, Masateru
Jin, Sunho
Yang, Hongu
Moon, Hong-Kyu
Choi, Young-Jun
JeongAhn, Youngmin
Kim, Myung-Jin
Kwak, SungWon
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
We derive the geometric albedo of a near-Earth asteroid, (4179) Toutatis, to investigate its surface physical conditions. The asteroid has been studied rigorously not only via ground-based photometric, spectrometric, polarimetric, and radar observations but also via \textit{in situ} observation by the Chinese Chang'e-2 space probe; however, its geometric albedo is not well understood. We conducted V-band photometric observations when the asteroid was at opposition in April 2018 using the three telescopes in the southern hemisphere that compose the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet). The observed time-variable cross section was corrected using the radar shape model. We find that Toutatis has a geometric albedo $p_\mathrm{V} = 0.185^{+0.045}_{-0.039} $, which is typical of S-type asteroids. We compare the geometric albedo with archival polarimetric data and further find that the polarimetric slope--albedo law provides a reliable estimate for the albedo of this S-type asteroid. The thermal infrared observation also produced similar results if the size of the asteroid is updated to match the results from Chang'e-2. We conjecture that the surface of Toutatis is covered with grains smaller than that of the near-Sun asteroids including (1566) Icarus and (3200) Phaethon.
title The Geometric Albedo of (4179) Toutatis Estimated from KMTNet DEEP-South Observations
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/1905.08576