Time-resolved Photometry of Kuiper Belt Objects: Rotations, Shapes, and Phase Functions
By S. Sheppard, D. Jewitt. 2002
137 citations recorded by the source corpus.
We present a systematic investigation of the rotational light curves of trans-Neptunian objects based on extensive optical data from Mauna Kea. Four of 13 objects (corresponding to 31%) in our sample [(33128) 1998 BU48, 2000 GN171, (20000) Varuna, and (40314) 1999 KR16] were found to exhibit light curves with peak-to-peak range ≥0.15 mag. In a larger sample obtained by combining our data with reliably determined light curves from the literature, seven of 22 objects (32%) display significant (≥0.15 mag range) light curves. About 23% of the sampled objects have light-curve ranges ≥0.4 mag. Curiously, the objects are very large (≳250 km diameter, assuming an albedo of 0.04) and, in the absence of rotation, should be nearly spherical as a result of self-compression. We propose that the large-amplitude, short-period objects are rotationally distorted, low-density rubble piles. Statistically, the trans-Neptunian objects are less spherical than their main-belt asteroid counterparts, indicating a higher specific angular momentum, perhaps resulting from the formation epoch. In addition to the rotational light curves, we measured phase darkening for seven Kuiper belt objects in the 0° to 2° phase-angle range. Unlike Pluto, the measured values show steep slopes and moderate opposition surge, indicating backscatter from low-albedo porous surface materials.
Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Geophysics
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/aea0a05fa76b474724a4509180029a8503506b19
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Citations in the corpus
- Photometric Observations Constraining the Size, Shape, and Albedo of 2003 EL61, a Rapidly Rotating, Pluto-sized Object in the Kuiper Belt (2005, methodology): “In Figure 6, we compare the Sun-subtracted value of V I we observe for 2003 EL61 with the values known for all the intrinsically bright TNOs (absolute magnitude 4).”