Twenty Years Of Toutatis

Details Twenty Years Of Toutatis Twenty Years Of Toutatis

Oct 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011epsc.conf..297b&link_type=abstract

EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2011, held 2-7 October 2011 in Nantes, France. http://meetings.copernicus.org/epsc-dps2011, p.297

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Scientific paper

In 2004, Toutatis passed within 0.0104 AU of Earth. The method of Scheeres et al. 2000 [4] predicts that tidal torques during that flyby should have significantly changed Toutatis' spin state due to its elongated shape and slow rotation. We have analyzed all of the available radar data, developing an improved model of Toutatis' rotation. Between 2004 and 2008, the change in Toutatis' spin state from the flyby accumulated to over 180º. The other flybys were at much greater distances (>0.024 AU), but the asteroid's spin changed measurably after each encounter. Our model also includes better estimates of Toutatis' shape and moments of inertia. This work is ongoing, but we will discuss the implications of our results for the asteroid's history and internal structure, particularly if the moments of inertia are consistent with a uniform internal density. Toutatis' last close-Earth-approach for several decades will be in December 2012, when it will be 0.046 AU away. We will make predictions for what radar observations at that time should see.

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