Enhancing Science from the Spitzer Ecliptic Plane Survey

Details Enhancing Science from the Spitzer Ecliptic Plane Survey Enhancing Science from the Spitzer Ecliptic Plane Survey

Sep 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004sptz.prop.3366t&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #3366

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Spitzer's FLS: Ecliptic Plane Survey (EPS) was designed to "characterize the population of moving objects, at 8 and 24um, and to explore smaller members of the asteroid population (< 1 km diameter). This survey has been designed to target asteroids in the main belt between 2 and 4 AU, to determine number counts and ecliptic plane scale heights. With supporting ground-based observations at visible wavelengths we will also provide asteroid sizes and orbits to enable follow-up observations." (http://sirtf.caltech.edu/SSC/fls/eclip/). In addition, there are map regions in which all MIPS and IRAC bands overlap. These offer additional science return regarding asteroid thermophysical properties and determining the presence of water of hydration. We have used the NOAO/KPNO Mosaic CCD camera on the 4-m in Arizona, the MegaCam CCD camera on the 4-m CFHT in Hawaii, and the FORS1 CCD System in imaging mode on the 8.2-m VLT (UT1 - Antu) in Chile to obtain follow-up astrometry and visual photometry for the EPS asteroids detected by Spitzer. These data will enable us to deduce distances and preliminary orbits for the Spitzer-detected asteroids observed in our ground-based programs. These observations (to a limiting V mag of ~24 on the 4-m telescopes and to ~26 on the VLT), and the orbits deduced from them, will be placed on the Spitzer web site as soon as they are obtained and reduced - probably by mid-2004 and certainly before the end of the year. The funding requested under this proposal will allow us to use the data we have already acquired, together with Spitzer 8 and/or 24um fluxes, to compute albedos and diameters for EPS asteroids as small as several hundred meters, the first for sub-kilometer sized main-belt asteroids. Taxonomic classification and physical properties will be determined by obtaining new multi-color photometry and spectrophotometry on a subset of asteroids observed by Spitzer. These results will then be used to test and refine the most comprehensive model in existence of main-belt asteroids.

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