The Brittle Boulders of Dwarf Planet Ceres

We mapped all boulders larger than 105 m on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres using images of the Dawn framing camera acquired in the Low Altitude Mapping Orbit. We find that boulders on Ceres are more numerous toward high latitudes and have a maximum lifetime of 150 ± 50 Ma, based on crater counts. These characteristics are distinctly different from those of boulders on asteroid (4) Vesta, an earlier target of Dawn, which implies that Ceres’ boulders are mechanically weaker. Clues to their properties can be found in the composition of Ceres’ complex crust, which is rich in phyllosilicates and salts. As water ice is thought to be present only meters below the surface, we suggest that boulders also harbor ice. Furthermore, the boulder size–frequency distribution is best fit by a Weibull distribution rather than the customary power law, just like for Vesta boulders. This finding is robust in light of possible types of size measurement error

Moon Search Algorithms for NASA's Dawn Mission to Asteroid Vesta

A moon or natural satellite is a celestial body that orbits a planetary body such as a planet, dwarf planet, or an asteroid. Scientists seek understanding the origin and evolution of our solar system by studying moons of these bodies. Additionally, searches for satellites of planetary bodies can be important to protect the safety of a spacecraft as it approaches or orbits a planetary body. If a satellite of a celestial body is found, the mass of that body can also be calculated once its orbit is determined. Ensuring the Dawn spacecraft's safety on its mission to the asteroid Vesta primarily motivated the work of Dawn's Satellite Working Group (SWG) in summer of 2011. Dawn mission scientists and engineers utilized various computational tools and techniques for Vesta's satellite search. The objectives of this paper are to 1) introduce the natural satellite search problem, 2) present the computational challenges, approaches, and tools used when addressing this problem, and 3) describe applications of various image processing and computational algorithms for performing satellite searches to the electronic imaging and computer science community. Furthermore, we hope that this communication would enable Dawn mission scientists to improve their satellite search algorithms and tools and be better prepared for performing the same investigation in 2015, when the spacecraft is scheduled to approach and orbit the dwarf planet Ceres

Recent GRBs observed with the 1.23m CAHA telescope and the status of its upgrade

We report on optical observations of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) followed up by our collaboration with the 1.23m telescope located at the Calar Alto observatory. The 1.23m telescope is an old facility, currently undergoing upgrades to enable fully autonomous response to GRB alerts. We discuss the current status of the control system upgrade of the 1.23m telescope. The upgrade is being done by the ARAE our group, based on members of IAA (Instituto de Astrofiisica de Andalucia). Currently the ARAE group is responsible to develop the BOOTES network of robotic telescopes based on the Remote Telescope System, 2nd Version (RTS2), which controls the available instruments and interacts with the EPICS database of Calar Alto. Currently the telescope can run fully autonomously or under observer supervision using RTS2. The fast reaction response mode for GRB reaction (typically with response times below 3 minutes from the GRB onset) still needs some development and testing. The telescope is usually operated in legacy interactive mode, with periods of supervised autonomous runs under RTS2. We show the preliminary results of several GRBs followed up with observer intervention during the testing phase of the 1.23m control software upgrade.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in the Special issue "Robotic Astronomy" of Advances in Astronomy. It includes two iterations with the referee

Ceres' opposition effect observed by the Dawn framing camera

The surface reflectance of planetary regoliths may increase dramatically towards zero phase angle, a phenomenon known as the opposition effect (OE). Two physical processes that are thought to be the dominant contributors to the brightness surge are shadow hiding (SH) and coherent backscatter (CB). The occurrence of shadow hiding in planetary regoliths is self-evident, but it has proved difficult to unambiguously demonstrate CB from remote sensing observations. One prediction of CB theory is the wavelength dependence of the OE angular width. The Dawn spacecraft observed the OE on the surface of dwarf planet Ceres. We characterize the OE over the resolved surface, including the bright Cerealia Facula, and to find evidence for SH and/or CB. We analyze images of the Dawn framing camera by means of photometric modeling of the phase curve. We find that the OE of most of the investigated surface has very similar characteristics, with an enhancement factor of 1.4 and a FWHM of 3{\deg} (broad OE). A notable exception are the fresh ejecta of the Azacca crater, which display a very narrow brightness enhancement that is restricted to phase angles $< 0.5${\deg} (narrow OE); suggestively, this is in the range in which CB is thought to dominate. We do not find a wavelength dependence for the width of the broad OE, and lack the data to investigate the dependence for the narrow OE. The prediction of a wavelength-dependent CB width is rather ambiguous. The zero-phase observations allow us to determine Ceres' visible geometric albedo as $p_V = 0.094 \pm 0.005$. A comparison with other asteroids suggests that Ceres' broad OE is typical for an asteroid of its spectral type, with characteristics that are primarily linked to surface albedo. Our analysis suggests that CB may occur on the dark surface of Ceres in a highly localized fashion.Comment: Credit: Schr\"oder et al, A&A in press, 2018, reproduced with permission, \copyright ES

GRB 101008A: 1.23m CAHA optical observations

"We have carried out R-band observations of the Swift GRB 101008A (Baumgartner et al., GCNC 11318, GCNC 11319) with the 1.23m Calar Alto telescope. The observations were carried out in R-band on October 8.7957-8.8118 UT (2.38 - 2.76 hours post trigger) under poor atmospheric conditions. We do not detect any optical source consistent with the XRT error circle (Baumgartner et al., GCNC 11319) down to a limiting magnitude of R=19.7 (3 sigma, calibrated against USNO-B1.0)"

The Boulder Population of Asteroid 4 Vesta: Size‐Frequency Distribution and Survival Time

Dawn's framing camera observed boulders on the surface of Vesta when the spacecraftwas in its lowest orbit (Low Altitude Mapping Orbit, LAMO). We identified, measured, and mapped boulders in LAMO images, which have a scale of 20 m per pixel. We estimate that our sample is virtually complete down to a boulder size of 4 pixels (80 m). The largest boulder is a 400 m‐sized block on the Marcia crater floor. Relatively few boulders reside in a large area of relatively low albedo, surmised to be the carbon‐rich ejecta of the Veneneia basin, either because boulders form less easily here or live shorter. By comparing the density of boulders around craters with a known age, we find that the maximum boulder lifetime is about 300 Ma. The boulder size‐frequency distribution (SFD) is generally assumed to follow a power law. We fit power laws to the Vesta SFD by means of the maximum likelihood method, but they do not fit well. Our analysis of power law exponents for boulders on other small Solar System bodies suggests that the derived exponent is primarily a function of boulder size range. The Weibull distribution mimics this behavior and fits the Vesta boulder SFD well. The Weibull distribution is often encountered in rock grinding experiments and may result from the fractal nature of cracks propagating in the rock interior. We propose that, in general, the SFD of particles (including boulders) on the surface of small bodies follows a Weibull distribution rather than a power law.Key Points: We mapped boulders larger than 60 m on asteroid Vesta and found all associated with impact craters. The maximum lifetime of these large Vesta boulders is about 300 Ma, similar to that of meter‐sized lunar boulders. Their cumulative size‐frequency distribution is best fit by a Weibull distribution rather than a power law

The lightcurve and colors of unusual Minor Planet 1996 PW

Minor Planet 1996 PW is unusual in having the orbital characteristics of a long period comet but showing no sign of cometary activity around the time of its discovery. We present optical data which reveals a double peaked lightcurve (period 35.44 +/- 0.02 hrs and amplitude 0.44 +/- 0.03 magnitudes) and VRIJHK photometry which shows colors (V - R = 0.56 +/- 0.04, V - I = 1.03 +/- 0.06, V - J = 1.80 +/- 0.05, V - H = 2.19 +/- 0.05, and V - K = 2.32 +/- 0.05) typical of D type asteroids and suspected bare comet nuclei. A low signal to noise reflectance spectrum in the K band shows a flat continuum with no evidence for spectral features. Image profiles from coadded frames in the R band indicate no apparent cometary activity with an implied upper limit to the dust production rate of 0.03 kg s(-1). (C) 1998 Academic Press

Rotational Properties of the Jupiter Trojans: I. Light Curves of 80 Objects

We present the results of a Jupiter Trojans’ light curve survey aimed at characterizing the rotational properties of Trojans in the approximate size range 60–150 km. The survey, which was designed to provide reliable and unbiased estimates of rotation periods and amplitudes, resulted in light curves for a total of 80 objects, 56 of which represent the first determinations published to date and nine of which supersede previously published erroneous values. Our results more than double the size of the existing database of rotational properties of Jovian Trojans in the selected size range. The analysis of the distributions of the rotation periods and light curve amplitudes is the subject of companion papers