65 Cybele in the thermal infrared: Multiple observations and thermophysical analysis

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication by A&A

Scientific paper

10.1051/0004-6361:20040025

We investigated the physical and thermal properties of 65 Cybele}, one of the largest main-belt asteroids. Based on published and recently obtained thermal infrared observations, including ISO measurements, we derived through thermophysical modelling (TPM) a size of 302x290x232 km (+/- 4 %) and an geometric visible albedo of 0.050+/-0.005. Our model of a regolith covered surface with low thermal inertia and "default" roughness describes the wavelengths and phase angle dependent thermal aspects very well. Before/after opposition effect and beaming behaviour can be explained in that way. We found a constant emissivity of 0.9 at wavelengths up to about 100 micron and lower values towards the submillimetre range, indicating a grain size distribution dominated by 200 micron particle sizes. The spectroscopic analysis revealed an emissivity increase between 8.0 and 9.5 micron. We compared this emissivity behaviour with the Christiansen features of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, but a conclusive identification was not possible. A comparison between the Standard Thermal Model (STM) and the applied TPM clearly demonstrates the limitations and problems of the STM for the analysis of multi-epoch and -wavelengths observations. While the TPM produced a unique diameter/albedo solution, the calculated STM values varied by +/-30 % and showed clear trends with wavelength and phase angle. Cybele can be considered as a nice textbook case for the thermophysical analysis of combined optical and thermal infrared observations.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

65 Cybele in the thermal infrared: Multiple observations and thermophysical analysis does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with 65 Cybele in the thermal infrared: Multiple observations and thermophysical analysis, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and 65 Cybele in the thermal infrared: Multiple observations and thermophysical analysis will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-384567

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.