135 research outputs found
A multi-domain approach to asteroid families identification
Previous works have identified families halos by an analysis in proper
elements domains, or by using Sloan Digital Sky Survey-Moving Object Catalog
data, fourth release (SDSS-MOC4) multi-band photometry to infer the asteroid
taxonomy, or by a combination of the two methods. The limited number of
asteroids for which geometric albedo was known until recently discouraged in
the past the extensive use of this additional parameter, which is however of
great importance in identifying an asteroid taxonomy. The new availability of
geometric albedo data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
mission for about 100,000 asteroids significantly increased the sample of
objects for which such information, with some errors, is now known.
In this work we proposed a new method to identify families halos in a
multi-domain space composed by proper elements, SDSS-MOC4 (a*,i-z) colors, and
WISE geometric albedo for the whole main belt (and the Hungaria and Cybele
orbital regions). Assuming that most families were created by the breakup of an
undifferentiated parent body, they are expected to be homogeneous in colors and
albedo. The new method is quite effective in determining objects belonging to a
family halo, with low percentages of likely interlopers, and results that are
quite consistent in term of taxonomy and geometric albedo of the halo members.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures, 6 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Dynamical evolution and chronology of the Hygiea asteroid family
The asteroid (10) Hygiea is the fourth largest asteroid of the Main Belt, by
volume and mass, and it is the largest member of its own family. Previous works
investigated the long-term effects of close encounters with (10) Hygiea of
asteroids in the orbital region of the family, and analyzed the taxonomical and
dynamical properties of members of this family. In this paper we apply the
high-quality SDSS-MOC4 taxonomic scheme of DeMeo and Carry (2013) to members of
the Hygiea family core and halo, we obtain an estimate of the minimum time and
number of encounter necessary to obtain a (or 99.7%) compatible
frequency distribution function of changes in proper caused by close
encounters with (10) Hygiea, we study the behavior of asteroids near secular
resonance configurations, in the presence and absence of the Yarkovsky force,
and obtain a first estimate of the age of the family based on orbital diffusion
by the Yarkovsky and YORP effects with two methods.
The Hygiea family is at least 2 Byr old, with an estimated age of Myr and a relatively large initial ejection velocity field,
according to the approach of Vokrouhlick\'{y} et al. (2006a, b). Surprisingly,
we found that the family age can be shortened by 25% if the dynamical
mobility caused by close encounters with (10) Hygiea is also accounted for,
which opens interesting new research lines for the dynamical evolution of
families associated with massive bodies. In our taxonomical analysis of the
Hygiea asteroid family, we also identified a new V-type candidate: the asteroid
(177904) (2005 SV5). If confirmed, this could be the fourth V-type object ever
to be identified in the outer main belt.Comment: 13 page, 15 figures, and 4 table
Dynamical evolution of V-type asteroids in the central main belt
V-type asteroids are associated with basaltic composition, and are supposed
to be fragments of crust of differentiated objects. Most V-type asteroids in
the main belt are found in the inner main belt, and are either current members
of the Vesta dynamical family (Vestoids), or past members that drifted away.
However, several V-type photometric candidates have been recently identified in
the central and outer main belt.
The origin of this large population of V-type objects is not well understood.
Since it seems unlikely that Vestoids crossing the 3J:-1A mean-motion resonance
with Jupiter could account for the whole population of V-type asteroids in the
central and outer main belt, origin from local sources, such as the parent
bodies of the Eunomia, and of the Merxia and Agnia asteroid families, has been
proposed as an alternative mechanism.
In this work we investigated the dynamical evolution of the V-type
photometric candidates in the central main belt, under the effect of
gravitational and non-gravitational forces. Our results show that dynamical
evolution from the parent bodies of the Eunomia and Merxia/Agnia families on
timescales of 2 Byr or more could be responsible for the current orbital
location of most of the low-inclined V-type asteroids.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
The changing material around (2060) Chiron from an occultation on 2022 December 15
We could accurately predict the shadow path and successfully observe an
occultation of a bright star by Chiron on 2022 December 15. The Kottamia
Astronomical Observatory in Egypt did not detect the occultation by the solid
body, but we detected three extinction features in the light curve that had
symmetrical counterparts with respect to the central time of the occultation.
One of the features is broad and shallow, whereas the other two features are
sharper with a maximum extinction of 25 at the achieved spatial
resolution of 19 km per data point. From the Wise observatory in Israel, we
detected the occultation caused by the main body and several extinction
features surrounding the body. When all the secondary features are plotted in
the sky plane we find that they can be caused by a broad 580 km disk with
concentrations at radii of 325 \pm 16 km and 423 \pm 11 km surrounding Chiron.
At least one of these structures appears to be outside the Roche limit. The
ecliptic coordinates of the pole of the disk are = 151
8 and = 18 11, in agreement with previous
results. We also show our long-term photometry indicating that Chiron had
suffered a brightness outburst of at least 0.6 mag between March and September
2021 and that Chiron was still somewhat brighter at the occultation date than
at its nominal pre-outburst phase. The outermost extinction features might be
consistent with a bound or temporarily bound structure associated with the
brightness increase. However, the nature of the brightness outburst is unclear,
and it is also unclear whether the dust or ice released in the outburst could
be feeding a putative ring structure or if it emanated from it.Comment: 6 pages, 4, figure
After DART: Using the First Full-scale Test of a Kinetic Impactor to Inform a Future Planetary Defense Mission
NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is the first full-scale test of an asteroid deflection technology. Results from the hypervelocity kinetic impact and Earth-based observations, coupled with LICIACube and the later Hera mission, will result in measurement of the momentum transfer efficiency accurate to ∼10% and characterization of the Didymos binary system. But DART is a single experiment; how could these results be used in a future planetary defense necessity involving a different asteroid? We examine what aspects of Dimorphos’s response to kinetic impact will be constrained by DART results; how these constraints will help refine knowledge of the physical properties of asteroidal materials and predictive power of impact simulations; what information about a potential Earth impactor could be acquired before a deflection effort; and how design of a deflection mission should be informed by this understanding. We generalize the momentum enhancement factor β, showing that a particular direction-specific β will be directly determined by the DART results, and that a related direction-specific β is a figure of merit for a kinetic impact mission. The DART β determination constrains the ejecta momentum vector, which, with hydrodynamic simulations, constrains the physical properties of Dimorphos’s near-surface. In a hypothetical planetary defense exigency, extrapolating these constraints to a newly discovered asteroid will require Earth-based observations and benefit from in situ reconnaissance. We show representative predictions for momentum transfer based on different levels of reconnaissance and discuss strategic targeting to optimize the deflection and reduce the risk of a counterproductive deflection in the wrong direction
Gaia Focused Product Release: A catalogue of sources around quasars to search for strongly lensed quasars
Context. Strongly lensed quasars are fundamental sources for cosmology. The
Gaia space mission covers the entire sky with the unprecedented resolution of
" in the optical, making it an ideal instrument to search for
gravitational lenses down to the limiting magnitude of 21. Nevertheless, the
previous Gaia Data Releases are known to be incomplete for small angular
separations such as those expected for most lenses. Aims. We present the Data
Processing and Analysis Consortium GravLens pipeline, which was built to
analyse all Gaia detections around quasars and to cluster them into sources,
thus producing a catalogue of secondary sources around each quasar. We analysed
the resulting catalogue to produce scores that indicate source configurations
that are compatible with strongly lensed quasars. Methods. GravLens uses the
DBSCAN unsupervised clustering algorithm to detect sources around quasars. The
resulting catalogue of multiplets is then analysed with several methods to
identify potential gravitational lenses. We developed and applied an outlier
scoring method, a comparison between the average BP and RP spectra of the
components, and we also used an extremely randomised tree algorithm. These
methods produce scores to identify the most probable configurations and to
establish a list of lens candidates. Results. We analysed the environment of 3
760 032 quasars. A total of 4 760 920 sources, including the quasars, were
found within 6" of the quasar positions. This list is given in the Gaia
archive. In 87\% of cases, the quasar remains a single source, and in 501 385
cases neighbouring sources were detected. We propose a list of 381 lensed
candidates, of which we identified 49 as the most promising. Beyond these
candidates, the associate tables in this Focused Product Release allow the
entire community to explore the unique Gaia data for strong lensing studies
further.Comment: 35 pages, 60 figures, accepted for publication by Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Gaia Early Data Release 3 Acceleration of the Solar System from Gaia astrometry
Context. Gaia Early Data Release 3 (Gaia EDR3) provides accurate astrometry for about 1.6 million compact (QSO-like) extragalactic sources, 1.2 million of which have the best-quality five-parameter astrometric solutions. Aims. The proper motions of QSO-like sources are used to reveal a systematic pattern due to the acceleration of the solar systembarycentre with respect to the rest frame of the Universe. Apart from being an important scientific result by itself, the acceleration measured in this way is a good quality indicator of the Gaia astrometric solution. Methods. Theeffect of the acceleration was obtained as a part of the general expansion of the vector field of proper motions in vector spherical harmonics (VSH). Various versions of the VSH fit and various subsets of the sources were tried and compared to get the most consistent result and a realistic estimate of its uncertainty. Additional tests with the Gaia astrometric solution were used to get a better idea of the possible systematic errors in the estimate. Results. Our best estimate of the acceleration based on Gaia EDR3 is (2.32 +/- 0.16) x 10(-10) m s(-2) (or 7.33 +/- 0.51 km s(-1) Myr-1) towards alpha = 269.1 degrees +/- 5.4 degrees, delta = -31.6 degrees +/- 4.1 degrees, corresponding to a proper motion amplitude of 5.05 +/- 0.35 mu as yr(-1). This is in good agreement with the acceleration expected from current models of the Galactic gravitational potential. We expect that future Gaia data releases will provide estimates of the acceleration with uncertainties substantially below 0.1 mu as yr(-1).Peer reviewe
- …