Size and Shape From Stellar Occultation Observations of the Double Jupiter Trojan Patroclus and Menoetius

Buie, M. W.; Olkin, C. B.; Merline, W. J.; Walsh, K. J.; Levison, Harold F.; Timerson, B.; Herald, D.; Owen, W. M.; Abramson, Harry B.; Abramson, Katherine J.; Breit, D.; Caton, D. B.; Conard, Steve; Croom, Mark A.; Dunford, R.; Dunford, J. A.; Dunham, David; Ellington, C. K.; Liu, Yanzhe; Maley, P. D.; Olsen, Aart M.; Preston, S.; Royer, R.; Scheck, A.; Sherrod, C.; Sherrod, Lowell; Swift, Theodore J.; Taylor, Lawrence W.; Venable, Roger

doi:10.1088/0004-6256/149/3/113

Cited by 43 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Deviations from the circular limb profiles that we have assumed could have similar effects. Buie et al (2015) estimated the b axis radii as 59 and 54 km, for Patroclus and Menoetius, respectively, slightly larger than their 49 and 45 km c axis radii that we used for our circular profiles. The larger b axis sizes imply somewhat longer events.…”

Section: Mutual Event Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…An additional data point was taken from the 2013 October 21 stellar occultation. Numerous ground-based observing stations yielded chords across the system, providing accurate size and shape information, as well as pinpointing the relative locations of the two bodies at that epoch (Buie et al 2015). The resulting astrometric data set is listed in Table 1. Our orbit fitting procedures have been described in prior publications and we refer the reader to them for additional details (e.g., Grundy et al 2011;2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Numerous ground-based observing stations yielded chords across the system, providing accurate size and shape information, as well as pinpointing the relative locations of the two bodies at that epoch (Buie et al 2015). The resulting astrometric data set is listed in Table 1. Our orbit fitting procedures have been described in prior publications and we refer the reader to them for additional details (e.g., Grundy et al 2011;2015). We used the Amoeba algorithm to find values of the Keplerian orbital elements that minimize residuals between observed and predicted relative astrometry, accounting for the heliocentric motions of Earth and Patroclus.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A slightly smaller circle of radius 45 km representing Menoetius is placed at the satellite's position relative to Patroclus as seen from Earth, based on our orbit solution. These sizes are the polar radii from Buie et al (2015), chosen because mutual events in a tidallylocked system would be viewed when the long-axes of prolate bodies are oriented toward the observer and/or Sun. This is a conservative assumption in the sense that the b axes of the bodies are larger than their c axes, so by assuming circular limb profiles at the polar radii, we predict minimum event durations.…”

Section: Mutual Event Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The upcoming mutual event season for the Patroclus–Menoetius Trojan binary

Grundy

Noll

Levison

2018

Icarus

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Section: Mutual Event Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mutual Event Predictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The upcoming mutual event season for the Patroclus–Menoetius Trojan binary

Grundy

Noll

Levison

2018

Icarus

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“…(617) Patroclus and Menoetius stand out among the 25 largest JTs with diameters D > 100 km [16,17] as a curious pair of gravitationally bound bodies with binary separation a B ≃ 670 km. The formation of the Patroclus-Menoetius (P-M) binary is thought to be related to the accretion processes of small bodies themselves [10,11].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for very early migration of the Solar System planets from the Patroclus–Menoetius binary Jupiter Trojan

et al. 2018

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The orbital distribution of trans-Neptunian objects provides strong evidence for the radial migration of Neptune [1,2]. The outer planets' orbits are thought to have become unstable during the early stages [3] with Jupiter having scattering encounters with a Neptune-class planet [4]. As a consequence, Jupiter jumped inward by a fraction of an au, as required from inner solar system constraints [5,6], and obtained its current orbital eccentricity. The timing of these events is often linked to the lunar Late Heavy Bombardment that ended ∼700 Myr after the dispersal of the protosolar nebula (t 0 ) [7,8]. Here we show instead that planetary migration started shortly after t 0 . Such early migration is inferred from the survival of the Patroclus-Menoetius binary Jupiter Trojan [9]. The binary formed at t t 0 [10,11] within a massive planetesimal disk once located beyond Neptune [12,13]. The longer the binary stayed in the disk, the greater the likelihood that collisions would strip its components from one another. The simulations of its survival indicate that the disk had to have been dispersed by migrating planets within 100 Myr of t 0 . This constraint implies that the planetary migration is unrelated to the formation of the youngest lunar basins.Jupiter Trojans (JTs) are a population of small bodies with orbits near Jupiter [14].They hug two equilibrium points of the three-body problem, known as L 4 and L 5 , with semimajor axes a ≃ 5.2 au, eccentricities e < 0.15, and inclinations i < 40 • . Dynamical models suggest that JTs formed in the outer planetesimal disk between ∼20 au and 30 au and were implanted onto their present orbits after having a series of scattering encounters with the outer planets [12,13]. This resolves a long-standing conflict between the previous formation theories that implied i < 10 • and high orbital inclinations of JTs. The formation

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Trojan Asteroid Satellites, Rings, and Activity

Noll,

Brown,

Buie

et al. 2023

Space Sci Rev

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The Lucy mission will encounter five Jupiter Trojans during its mission with three of the five already known to be multiple systems. These include a near-equal-mass binary, a small and widely separated satellite, and one intermediate-size satellite system. This chapter reviews the current state of knowledge of Trojan asteroid satellites in the context of similar satellite systems in other small body populations. The prospects for the detection of additional satellites as well as other near-body phenomena are considered. The scientific utility of satellites makes their observation with Lucy an important scientific priority for the mission.

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Size and Shape From Stellar Occultation Observations of the Double Jupiter Trojan Patroclus and Menoetius

Cited by 43 publications

References 11 publications

The upcoming mutual event season for the Patroclus–Menoetius Trojan binary

The upcoming mutual event season for the Patroclus–Menoetius Trojan binary

Evidence for very early migration of the Solar System planets from the Patroclus–Menoetius binary Jupiter Trojan

Trojan Asteroid Satellites, Rings, and Activity

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