The Lightcurve and Colors of Unusual Minor Planet 1998 WU24

Details The Lightcurve and Colors of Unusual Minor Planet 1998 WU24 The Lightcurve and Colors of Unusual Minor Planet 1998 WU24

Mar 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001icar..150...69d&link_type=abstract

Icarus, Volume 150, Issue 1, pp. 69-77 (2001).

Physics

7

Scientific paper

Minor planet 1998 WU24 is unusual in having the orbital characteristics of a Halley family comet but showing no sign of cometary activity. We present optical data that reveal a double-peaked light-curve with a period of 7.283+/-0.003 h and a peak-to-peak amplitude of ~0.54 mag. Infrared spectroscopy and quasi-simultaneous BVRIJHK photometry reveal a featureless K-band spectrum and colors typical of D-type asteroids, and suspected ``bare'' comet nuclei (B-V=0.78+/-0.034, V-R=0.53+/-0.037, V-I=0.99=0.035, V-J=1.67+/-0.043, V-H=2.10+/-0.076 and V-K=2.34+/-0.102). Image profiles from co-added frames in the R band indicate no apparent cometary activity, with an implied upper limit to the dust production rate of 150 g s-1. Assuming a D-type albedo of 0.04 we derive a spherical equivalent diameter of 5.28+/-0.07 km although the lightcurve amplitude implies an irregular body with an axial ratio of 1.64 : 1. We conclude that 1998 WU24 is probably an inactive comet nucleus.

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