First VLTI-MIDI Direct Determinations of Asteroid Sizes

Details First VLTI-MIDI Direct Determinations of Asteroid Sizes First VLTI-MIDI Direct Determinations of Asteroid Sizes

Apr 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009apj...694.1228d&link_type=abstract

The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 694, Issue 2, pp. 1228-1236 (2009).

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

7

Infrared: Solar System, Minor Planets, Asteroids, Techniques: Interferometric

Scientific paper

We have obtained the first successful interferometric measurements of asteroid sizes and shapes by means of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer-Mid-Infrared Interferometric Instrument (VLTI-MIDI). The VLTI can spatially resolve asteroids in a range of sizes and heliocentric distances that are not accessible to other techniques such as adaptive optics and radar. We have observed, as a typical bench mark, the asteroid (951) Gaspra, visited in the past by the Galileo space probe, and we derive a size in good agreement with the ground truth coming from the in situ measurements by the Galileo mission. Moreover, we have also observed the asteroid (234) Barbara, known to exhibit unusual polarimetric properties, and we found evidence of a potential binary nature. In particular, our data are best fit by a system of two bodies of 37 and 21 km in diameter, separated by a center-to-center distance of ~24 km (projected along the direction of the baseline at the epoch of our observations).
Based on data obtained at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO): program ID 076.C-0798.

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