Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002hst..prop.9508v&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #9508
Physics
Hst Proposal Id #9508
Scientific paper
1998_WW31 is the first Kuiper Belt Object, outside the pair Pluto/Charon, to be discovered as a binary object. Though only preliminary results are available from two orbits of HST DDT observation when this proposal is submitted, the pair exhibits a very high eccentricity {larger than 0.5} and a period of 570 days. The purpose of this proposal is to complete the monitoring of the pair on a full orbit, up to February 2003. Monitoring will then have to cease {Sun too close}. The binarity of an asteroid allows the determination of the total mass of the system and provides important information on the past Kuiper Belt environment {formation/collisions/capture processes}. If size can be obtained from albedo determination, the mass will give the density, a key parameter for any study of the origin and evolution of the Kuiper Belt. Hubble's unparalleled resolution provides the unique way to acquire observations of the pair good enough to access the physical characteristics of this system with a high degree of confidence, as the high eccentricity of the orbit keeps the two components less than 1 arc-second apart for most of the orbit. The observations would be made public immediately to allow the continuation of the education program offering to follow the pair on a regular basis to illustrate the prediction/verification iterative process of science and the direct use of simple laws for the determination of key parameters.
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