Other
Scientific paper
Jul 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992hst..prop.4748n&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #4748
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Hst Proposal Id #4748 Solar System
Scientific paper
On 8 December 1992 the Earth-crossing asteroid 4179 Toutatis will pass within 0.025 AU of the Earth, only 10 times the Earth-Moon separation. Toutatis has the siingular distinction of being the only Earth crossing asteroid that is both large enough (3-5 km) and close enough to be resolvable with the HST through the year 2000. The anticipated 0.2-0.3" diameter of 4179 means that only the HST has any hope of resolving this asteroid. Six images obtained with the Planetary Camera will provide a direct, model-independent determination of the size and likely complex shape of this object. These data will be key inputs into models interpreting spectral data for compositional information. Toutatis will be intensively observed from ground-based observatories during this extraordinary encounter, but observations in the UV and near UV will be minimal. We propose to obtain two FOS exposures, which will far surpass the data quality expected from IUE observations. We will investigate the surface mineralogy of this asteroid, and search for a weak coma, with much greater sensitivity than any other method.
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