Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007dps....39.5212s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #39, #52.12; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.519
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
1
Scientific paper
Discovered in 2005 (Weaver et al. 2005, IAUC 8625), Nix and Hydra not only make Pluto part of a quadruple system, but also present new constraints on the formation of the Pluto system. Because of the satellites' circular orbits, coplanar with Charon, it is likely they all formed from material ejected into orbit around Pluto by a giant impact event (Canup 2005, Science 307,546). Multiple systems appear common among Kuiper Belt objects; up to a fifth are binary or have multiple satellites, making the understanding of the Pluto system a cornerstone for exploration. NASA's New Horizons mission is currently en route to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, and will encounter the Pluto system in 2015. The recent discovery of Nix and Hydra is very timely in allowing target planning and new science goals for the New Horizons mission. A key factor in target planning is knowledge of the satellites’ rotation periods. Knowing the rotation periods allows optimum encounter image sequence planning for discerning their shapes, volumes, and surface characteristics. To determine or constrain short period rotation of these satellites, images of the Pluto system were obtained with the 6.5-meter Walter Baade telescope at Magellan Observatory, Las Campanas, Chile. Repeated imaging sequences covering a total of 10 hours on UT July 11 and 12 were executed using the Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph (IMACS) in the f/4 direct imaging mode. A total of 815 images (to be co-added) in a Sloan i' filter were collected under 0.4-0.7 arcsecond seeing and are now under analysis. Preliminary results will be presented.
Binzel Richard P.
Kern Susan D.
Springmann Alessondra
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