Thermal Properties of Damocloids

Details Thermal Properties of Damocloids Thermal Properties of Damocloids

Jun 2005

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005sptz.prop20796j&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #20796

Physics

Scientific paper

We propose to detect the thermal emission from 16 Damocloids. These are apparent asteroids on high-inclination and high-eccentricity orbits that are the dormant or extinct analogs to the Halley-Family (HF) and Long-Period (LP) comets. As such the Damocloids provide a way to study the physical properties of these cometary nuclei by proxy. Normally a HF or LP comet is active to very large heliocentric distances, thus making study of its nucleus problematic. So far we know fundamental properties of only a handful of these comets. Our primary goal is to sample the albedo and size distribution of the Damocloids by using complimentary visible-wavelength observations in concert with the proposed mid-IR program here. By sampling a large fraction of the entire known population of Damocloids, we will be able to make comparisons with the physical properties of both active and extinct Jupiter-family comets. We will look for differences that could be caused by the different evolutionary histories suffered by the two classes of comets. In addition we will search for indications of current and historical cometary activity. Deviations of the object's profile from a point source would indicate remnant low-level outgassing and dust ejection, while dust trails would suggest activity in the near past. Our program represents a first step in exploring this class of objects in the context of Solar System evolution.

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