Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Jul 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005hst..prop10512m&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #10512
Physics
Optics
Hst Proposal Id #10512 Solar System
Scientific paper
We propose an ambitious SNAPSHOT program to survey faint Jupiter Trojan asteroids for binary companions. We target 150 objects, with the expectation of acquiring data on about 50%. These objects span Vmag = 17.5-19.5, a range inaccessible with ground-based adaptive optics. We now have a significant sample from our survey of brighter Trojans to suggest that the binary fraction is similar to that which we find among brighter main-belt asteroids, roughly 2%. However, our observations suggest a higher binary fraction for smaller main-belt asteroids, probably the result of a different formation mechanism {evident also from the physical characteristics of the binaries}. Because the collision environment among the Trojans is similar to that of the Main Belt, while the composition is likely to be very different, sampling the binary fraction among the fainter Trojans should help us understand the collisional and binary formation mechanisms at work in various populations, including the Kuiper Belt, and help us evaluate theories for the origin of the Trojans. Calibration of and constraints on models of binary production and collisional evolution can only be done using these large-scale, real-life physical systems that we are beginning now to find and utilize.
No associations
LandOfFree
Search for Binaries Among Faint Jupiter Trojan Asteroids 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 Search for Binaries Among Faint Jupiter Trojan Asteroids, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Search for Binaries Among Faint Jupiter Trojan Asteroids will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1250197