Studying binary asteroids with NGS and LGS AO systems

Marchis, Franck; Berthier, J.; Descamps, P.; Hestroffer, Daniel; Vachier, F.; Laver, Conor; Pater, Imke de; Gavel, Don

doi:10.1117/12.550624

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…7 we show the best fit model rendered at the four aspect angles and for eight values of rotational phase. Recent observations using the LGS AO system at the Keck-II telescope suggest that (624) Hektor may have a bilobated shape (Marchis et al 2006b) and lend further support to the results presented here.…”

Section: (624) Hektorsupporting

confidence: 87%

Densities of Solar System Objects from Their Rotational Light Curves

2007

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We present models of the shapes of four Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) and Jovian Trojan (624) Hektor as ellipsoidal figures of equilibrium and Roche binaries. Our simulations select those figures of equilibrium whose lightcurves best match the measured rotational data. The best fit shapes, combined with the knowledge of the spin period of the objects provide estimates of the bulk densities of these objects. We find that the lightcurves of KBOs (20000) Varuna and 2003 EL 61 are well matched by Jacobi triaxial ellipsoid models with bulk densities 992 +86 −15 kg m −3 and 2551 +115 −10 kg m −3 , respectively. The lightcurves of (624) Hektor and KBO 2001 QG 298 are well-described by Roche contact binary models with densities 2480 +292 −80 kg m −3 and 590 +143 −47 kg m −3 , respectively. The nature of 2000 GN 171 remains unclear: Roche binary and Jacobi ellipsoid fits to this KBO are equivalent, but predict different densities, ∼2000 kg m −3 and ∼650 kg m −3 , respectively. Our density estimates suggest a trend of increasing density with size.

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Section: (624) Hektorsupporting

confidence: 87%

Densities of Solar System Objects from Their Rotational Light Curves

2007

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“…The contact binary 624 Hektor was recently discovered to possess a satellite of diameter 15 km using Keck Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (Marchis et al 2006a), but an independent density estimate derived from the orbital motion of this satellite has not yet been published. In addition, the imaging observations of 624 Hektor indicate that its primary component has a double-lobed nature.…”

Section: Candidate Contact Binary Asteroidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Trojan asteroids of Jupiter have yet to be searched systematically for the presence of binaries. Despite this fact, two Trojan binaries have already been identified: 617 Patroclus, a resolved wide binary discovered by Merline et al (2001), and 624 Hektor, which has a distinctive light curve that indicates it is a close or contact binary (Cook 1971;Hartmann et al 1988) and a widely separated satellite, has recently been imaged ( Marchis et al 2006a). The Trojans are intriguing because they show larger photometric ranges when compared with main-belt asteroids (Hartmann et al 1988), particularly those with diameters larger than 90 km (Binzel & Sauter 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fraction of Contact Binary Trojan Asteroids

2007

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We present the results of an optical light-curve survey of 114 Jovian Trojan asteroids conducted to determine the fraction of contact binaries. Sparse sampling was used to assess the photometric range of the asteroids, and those showing the largest ranges were targeted for detailed follow-up observations. This survey led to the discovery of two Trojan asteroids, (17365) and (29314), displaying large light-curve ranges ($1 mag) and long rotation periods (<2 rotations day À1 ) consistent with a contact binary nature. The optical light curves of both asteroids are well matched by Roche binary equilibrium models. Using these binary models, we find low densities of $600 and 800 kg m À3 , suggestive of porous interiors. The fraction of contact binaries is estimated to be between 6% and 10%, comparable to the fraction in the Kuiper Belt. The total binary fraction in the Trojan clouds (including both wide and close pairs) must be higher.

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“…In order to apply our results to some specific two-body problems (in particular to binary asteroids), the rotation of one of them must influence strongly on the orbital motion of the system, the other must be a point mass (or a spherical body) and the involved bodies must be at larger mutual distances than the individual dimensions of the same ones. This is the situation of the 45 Eugenia and its moon the Petit-Prince [7]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative analysis of the phase flow of an integrable approximation of a generalized roto-translatory problem

et al. 2009

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Abstract:In this paper, we consider an integrable approximation of the planar motion of a gyrostat in Newtonian interaction with a spherical rigid body. We then describe the Hamiltonian dynamics, in the fibers of constant total angular momentum vector of an invariant manifold of motion. Finally, using the Liouville-Arnold theorem and a particular analysis of the momentum map in its critical points, we obtain a complete topological classification of the different invariant sets of the phase flow of this problem. The results can be applied to study two-body roto-translatory problems where the rotation of one of them has a strong influence on the orbital motion of the system. 45.20.dc, 45.20.Jj, 45.40.Cc, 45.50.Pk PACS (2008):

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Studying binary asteroids with NGS and LGS AO systems

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Densities of Solar System Objects from Their Rotational Light Curves

Densities of Solar System Objects from Their Rotational Light Curves

Fraction of Contact Binary Trojan Asteroids

Qualitative analysis of the phase flow of an integrable approximation of a generalized roto-translatory problem

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