Optical Characterization of Planetary Radar Targets

Details Optical Characterization of Planetary Radar Targets Optical Characterization of Planetary Radar Targets

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.2821s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #28.21; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.440

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

1

Scientific paper

Planetary radar experiments provide knowledge pertaining to the size, shape, metal content, and surface roughness of over a dozen near-Earth and main-belt asteroids per year, as performed by the JPL radar group using the Arecibo and Goldstone facilities. All radar observations benefit greatly from optical observations, especially rotational lightcurves and taxonomic classification. Recently, it has been discovered that there exists a strong correlation between the radar Circular Polarization Ratio (CPR), a measure of surface roughness at centimeter scales, and the object's taxonomic classification, with high CPR near-Earth asteroids dominated by X and E-type asteroids (Benner et al. 2008). This correlation is not apparent in main-belt asteroids (Magri et al. 2007). In July 2007, we began a intensive program of physical characterization of planetary radar targets at the Palomar Mountain 200-inch Hale Telescope and the JPL Table Mountain Observatory 0.6-m telescope, collecting CCD spectra, BVRI colors and R-band lightcurves of essentially all radar targets observable from the northern hemisphere. We will report on our spectra, colors, and light-curve photometry for the following minor planets, with the taxonomic classification (Bus Taxonomy) derived from our data listed in parenthesis: 2007 DT103 (Sk), 2001 SN263 (B), 2005 WJ56 (Xk), 2007 VD12 (S), 4450 Pan (Sq), 2007 YE45 (Sq), 2002 TD66 (Sk), 347 Pariana (X), 41 Daphne (Ch), 2005 NB7 (Sq), 1991 VH (Sk), 1996 HW1 (Xe), 2005 RC34 (Xk). We shall discuss the notable predominance of X-type asteroids in our sample. In addition to the objects listed above, we expect to be able to report on lightcurves and/or taxonomic classifications for 216 Kleopatra, 2005 GN59, and 2000 DP107, which have apparitions that begin after the submission of this abstract.

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