Size Constraint on Hayabusa2 Extended Mission Rendezvous Target 1998~KY$_{26}$ via VLT/VISIR Non-detection
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arXiv
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| Autori principali: | , , , , , , |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866910895045607424 |
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| author | Beniyama, Jin Müller, Thomas G. Delbo, Marco Pantin, Eric Hainaut, Olivier R. Micheli, Marco Marsset, Michaël |
| author_facet | Beniyama, Jin Müller, Thomas G. Delbo, Marco Pantin, Eric Hainaut, Olivier R. Micheli, Marco Marsset, Michaël |
| contents | 1998~KY$_{26}$ is a tiny near-Earth asteroid ($H=26.1$) discovered in 1998. It has been selected as the target of the Hayabusa2 extended mission, which will rendezvous with 1998 KY$_{26}$ in 2031. However, one of the most basic physical properties, size, remains poorly constrained, posing potential challenges for spacecraft operations. We aimed at constraining the size of 1998 KY$_{26}$ by means of thermal infrared observations. We performed thermal infrared observations of 1998 KY$_{26}$ using the ESO Very Large Telescope/VISIR on three consecutive nights in May 2024. After stacking all frames, we find no apparent detection of 1998 KY$_{26}$ on the resulting images. The upper-limit flux density of 1998 KY$_{26}$ is derived as 2 mJy at 10.64 $μ$m. From this upper-limit flux density obtained via non-detection, we conclude that the diameter of 1998 KY$_{26}$ is smaller than 17 m with thermophysical modeling. This upper limit size is smaller than the radar-derived 30 ($\pm$ 10)\,m. Our size constraint on 1998 KY$_{26}$ is essential for the operation of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft during proximity operations using remote sensing instruments as well as a possible impact experiment using the remaining projectile. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_20891 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Size Constraint on Hayabusa2 Extended Mission Rendezvous Target 1998~KY$_{26}$ via VLT/VISIR Non-detection Beniyama, Jin Müller, Thomas G. Delbo, Marco Pantin, Eric Hainaut, Olivier R. Micheli, Marco Marsset, Michaël Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics 1998~KY$_{26}$ is a tiny near-Earth asteroid ($H=26.1$) discovered in 1998. It has been selected as the target of the Hayabusa2 extended mission, which will rendezvous with 1998 KY$_{26}$ in 2031. However, one of the most basic physical properties, size, remains poorly constrained, posing potential challenges for spacecraft operations. We aimed at constraining the size of 1998 KY$_{26}$ by means of thermal infrared observations. We performed thermal infrared observations of 1998 KY$_{26}$ using the ESO Very Large Telescope/VISIR on three consecutive nights in May 2024. After stacking all frames, we find no apparent detection of 1998 KY$_{26}$ on the resulting images. The upper-limit flux density of 1998 KY$_{26}$ is derived as 2 mJy at 10.64 $μ$m. From this upper-limit flux density obtained via non-detection, we conclude that the diameter of 1998 KY$_{26}$ is smaller than 17 m with thermophysical modeling. This upper limit size is smaller than the radar-derived 30 ($\pm$ 10)\,m. Our size constraint on 1998 KY$_{26}$ is essential for the operation of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft during proximity operations using remote sensing instruments as well as a possible impact experiment using the remaining projectile. |
| title | Size Constraint on Hayabusa2 Extended Mission Rendezvous Target 1998~KY$_{26}$ via VLT/VISIR Non-detection |
| topic | Earth and Planetary Astrophysics Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.20891 |