Size and albedo of Kuiper belt object 55636 from a stellar occultation
Article
Article Title | Size and albedo of Kuiper belt object 55636 from a stellar occultation |
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ERA Journal ID | 17479 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Elliot, J. L. (Author), Person, M. J. (Author), Zuluaga, C. A. (Author), Bosh, A. S. (Author), Adams, E. R. (Author), Brothers, T. C. (Author), Gulbis, A. A. S. (Author), Levine, S. E. (Author), Lockhart, M. (Author), Zangari, A. M. (Author), Babcock, B. A. (Author), DuPre, K. (Author), Pasachoff, J. M. (Author), Souza, S. P. (Author), Rosing, W. (Author), Secrest, N. (Author), Bright, L. (Author), Dunham, E. W. (Author), Sheppard, S. S. (Author), Kakkala, M. (Author), Tilleman, T. (Author), Berger, B. (Author), Briggs, J. W. (Author), Jacobson, G. (Author), Valleli, P. (Author), Volz, B. (Author), Rapoport, S. (Author), Hart, R. (Author), Brucker, M. (Author), Michel, R. (Author), Mattingly, A. (Author), Zambrano-Marin, L. (Author), Meyer, A. W. (Author), Wolf, J. (Author), Ryan, E. V. (Author), Ryan, W. H. (Author), Morzinski, K. (Author), Grigsby, B. (Author), Brimacombe, J. (Author), Montano, H. G. (Author) and Gilmore, A. (Author) |
Journal Title | Nature |
Journal Citation | 465 (7300), pp. 897-900 |
Number of Pages | 4 |
Year | 2010 |
Publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
ISSN | 0028-0836 |
0090-0028 | |
0300-8746 | |
1476-4687 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09109 |
Web Address (URL) | http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v465/n7300/full/nature09109.html |
Abstract | The Kuiper belt is a collection of small bodies (Kuiper belt objects, KBOs) that lie beyond the orbit of Neptune and which are believed to have formed contemporaneously with the planets. Their small size and great distance make them difficult to study. KBO 55636 (2002 TX300) is a member of the water-ice-rich Haumea KBO collisional family. The Haumea family are among the most highly reflective objects in the Solar System. Dynamical calculations indicate that the collision that created KBO 55636 occurred at least 1 Gyr ago. Here we report observations of a multi-chord stellar occultation by KBO 55636, which occurred on 9 October 2009 ut. We find that it has a mean radius of 143 ± 5 km (assuming a circular solution). Allowing for possible elliptical shapes, we find a geometric albedo of in the V photometric band, which establishes that KBO 55636 is smaller than previously thought and that, like its parent body, it is highly reflective. The dynamical age implies either that KBO 55636 has an active resurfacing mechanism, or that fresh water-ice in the outer Solar System can persist for gigayear timescales. |
Keywords | albedo; collision; Neptune; solar system; timescale |
Contains Sensitive Content | Does not contain sensitive content |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 510109. Stellar astronomy and planetary systems |
519999. Other physical sciences not elsewhere classified | |
490105. Dynamical systems in applications | |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
Byline Affiliations | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States |
Williams College, United States | |
Las Cumbres Observatory, United States | |
University of Hawaii, United States | |
Lowell Observatory, United States | |
Carnegie Institution of Washington, United States | |
United States Naval Observatory, United States | |
Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, United States | |
Australian National University | |
Centre for Astronomy, Solar Radiation and Climate | |
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, United States | |
National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico | |
IBM, Australia | |
University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, United States | |
NASA Ames Research Center, United States | |
Magdalena Ridge Observatory, United States | |
University of California, United States | |
James Cook University | |
National Autonomous University of Nicaragua, Nicaragua | |
University of Canterbury, New Zealand |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q1244/size-and-albedo-of-kuiper-belt-object-55636-from-a-stellar-occultation
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