179 research outputs found
Extreme asteroids in the Pan-STARRS 1 Survey
Using the first 18 months of the Pan-STARRS 1 survey we have identified 33
candidate high-amplitude objects for follow-up observations and carried out
observations of 22 asteroids. 4 of the observed objects were found to have
observed amplitude mag. We find that these high amplitude
objects are most simply explained by single rubble pile objects with some
density-dependent internal strength, allowing them to resist mass shedding even
at their highly elongated shapes. 3 further objects although below the cut-off
for 'high-amplitude' had a combination of elongation and rotation period which
also may require internal cohesive strength, depending on the density of the
body. We find that none of the 'high-amplitude asteroids' identified here
require any unusual cohesive strengths to resist rotational fission. 3
asteroids were sufficiently observed to allow for shape and spin pole models to
be determined through light curve inversion. 45864 was determined to have
retrograde rotation with spin pole axes and asteroid 206167 was found to have best fit spin
pole axes , . An additional
object not initially measured with mag, 49257, was determined to
have a shape model which does suggest a high-amplitude object. Its spin pole
axes were best fit for values .
In the course of this project to date no large super-fast rotators ( h) have been identified.Comment: 31 pages; accepted by A
Revising the age for the Baptistina asteroid family using WISE/NEOWISE data
We have used numerical routines to model the evolution of a simulated
Baptistina family to constrain its age in light of new measurements of the
diameters and albedos of family members from the Wide-field Infrared Survey
Explorer. We also investigate the effect of varying the assumed physical and
orbital parameters on the best-fitting age. We find that the physically allowed
range of assumed values for the density and thermal conductivity induces a
large uncertainty in the rate of evolution. When realistic uncertainties in the
family members' physical parameters are taken into account we find the
best-fitting age can fall anywhere in the range of 140-320 Myr. Without more
information on the physical properties of the family members it is difficult to
place a more firm constraint on Baptistina's age.Comment: 27 pages, 16 figures, accepted to Ap
Increase in the oxygen concentration in Amazon waters resulting from the root exudation of two notorious water plants, Eichhornia crassipes (Pontederiaceae) and Pistia stratiotes (Araceae)
Qualitative and quantitative analyses were carried out to determine the amount of oxygen that enters the water through the root systems of two floating Neotropical plants, Eichhornia crassipes and Pistia stratiotes, under nearly anaerobic conditions. The physiological analyses were supplemented by anatomical investigations. A measurable oxygen input from both plants was detected: that from E. crassipes was 116 mg O2 * h-1 * m-2, and from P. stratiotes, 58 mg O2 * h-1 * m-2. Water surface area representing 4 kg and 2.9 kg fresh weight, respectively. The O2 input from E. crassipes seemed to be independent of the amount of photosynthesis, suggesting that a pressure ventilation was responsible for the input. In the case of P. stratiotes, a relationship was found between the photosynthetic activity and the O2 input. The significance of this input for the Neotropical ecosystem and the fish fauna is discussed
The Size Distributions of Asteroid Families in the SDSS Moving Object Catalog 4
Asteroid families, traditionally defined as clusters of objects in orbital
parameter space, often have distinctive optical colors. We show that the
separation of family members from background interlopers can be improved with
the aid of SDSS colors as a qualifier for family membership. Based on an
~88,000 object subset of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Moving Object Catalog 4
with available proper orbital elements, we define 37 statistically robust
asteroid families with at least 100 members using a simple Gaussian
distribution model in both orbital and color space. The interloper rejection
rate based on colors is typically ~10% for a given orbital family definition,
with four families that can be reliably isolated only with the aid of colors.
About 50% of all objects in this data set belong to families, and this fraction
varies from about 35% for objects brighter than an H magnitude of 13 and rises
to 60% for objects fainter than this. The fraction of C-type objects in
families decreases with increasing H magnitude for H > 13, while the fraction
of S-type objects above this limit remains effectively constant. This suggests
that S-type objects require a shorter timescale for equilibrating the
background and family size distributions via collisional processing. The size
distributions for 15 families display a well-defined change of slope and can be
modeled as a "broken" double power-law. Such "broken" size distributions are
twice as likely for S-type familes than for C-type families, and are dominated
by dynamically old families. The remaining families with size distributions
that can be modeled as a single power law are dominated by young families. When
size distribution requires a double power-law model, the two slopes are
correlated and are steeper for S-type families.Comment: 50 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Icaru
Brightness variation distributions among main belt asteroids from sparse light curve sampling with Pan-STARRS 1
The rotational state of asteroids is controlled by various physical
mechanisms including collisions, internal damping and the
Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect. We have analysed the
changes in magnitude between consecutive detections of approximately 60,000
asteroids measured by the PanSTARRS 1 survey during its first 18 months of
operations. We have attempted to explain the derived brightness changes
physically and through the application of a simple model. We have found a
tendency toward smaller magnitude variations with decreasing diameter for
objects of 1 < D < 8 km. Assuming the shape distribution of objects in this
size range to be independent of size and composition our model suggests a
population with average axial ratios 1 : 0.85 \pm 0.13 : 0.71 \pm 0.13, with
larger objects more likely to have spin axes perpendicular to the orbital
plane.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, accepted by MNRA
Near-Earth asteroid (3200) Phaethon. Characterization of its orbit, spin state, and thermophysical parameters
The near-Earth asteroid (3200) Phaethon is an intriguing object: its
perihelion is at only 0.14 au and is associated with the Geminid meteor stream.
We aim to use all available disk-integrated optical data to derive a reliable
convex shape model of Phaethon. By interpreting the available space- and
ground-based thermal infrared data and Spitzer spectra using a thermophysical
model, we also aim to further constrain its size, thermal inertia, and visible
geometric albedo. We applied the convex inversion method to the new optical
data obtained by six instruments and to previous observations. The convex shape
model was then used as input for the thermophysical modeling. We also studied
the long-term stability of Phaethon's orbit and spin axis with a numerical
orbital and rotation-state integrator. We present a new convex shape model and
rotational state of Phaethon: a sidereal rotation period of 3.603958(2) h and
ecliptic coordinates of the preferred pole orientation of (319,
39) with a 5 uncertainty. Moreover, we derive its size
(=5.10.2 km), thermal inertia (=600200 J m
s K), geometric visible albedo
(=0.1220.008), and estimate the macroscopic surface
roughness. We also find that the Sun illumination at the perihelion passage
during the past several thousand years is not connected to a specific area on
the surface, which implies non-preferential heating.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics. In pres
Discovery of A New Retrograde Trans-Neptunian Object: Hint of A Common Orbital Plane for Low Semi-Major Axis, High Inclination TNOs and Centaurs
Although the majority of Centaurs are thought to have originated in the
scattered disk, with the high-inclination members coming from the Oort cloud,
the origin of the high inclination component of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)
remains uncertain. We report the discovery of a retrograde TNO, which we
nickname "Niku", detected by the Pan-STARRS 1 Outer Solar System Survey. Our
numerical integrations show that the orbital dynamics of Niku are very similar
to that of 2008 KV (Drac), with a half-life of Myr. Comparing
similar high inclination TNOs and Centaurs ( AU, ), we find that these objects exhibit a surprising clustering of
ascending node, and occupy a common orbital plane. This orbital configuration
has high statistical significance: 3.8-. An unknown mechanism is
required to explain the observed clustering. This discovery may provide a
pathway to investigate a possible reservoir of high-inclination objects.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
- …