PHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND ORIGIN OF BINARY NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID (175706) 1996 FG{sub 3}
- Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut Street Suite 400, Boulder, CO 80302 (United States)
- UNS-CNRS-Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur, BP 4229, 06304 Nice Cedex 04 (France)
The near-Earth asteroid (NEA) (175706) 1996 FG{sub 3} is a particularly interesting spacecraft target: a binary asteroid with a low-{Delta}v heliocentric orbit. The orbit of its satellite has provided valuable information about its mass density while its albedo and colors suggest it is primitive or part of the C-complex taxonomic grouping. We extend the physical characterization of this object with new observations of its emission at mid-infrared wavelengths and with near-infrared reflection spectroscopy. We derive an area-equivalent system diameter of 1.90 {+-} 0.28 km (corresponding to approximate component diameters of 1.83 km and 0.51 km, respectively) and a geometric albedo of 0.039 {+-} 0.012. (175706) 1996 FG{sub 3} was previously classified as a C-type asteroid, though the combined 0.4-2.5 {mu}m spectrum with thermal correction indicates classification as B-type; both are consistent with the low measured albedo. Dynamical studies show that (175706) 1996 FG{sub 3} most probably originated in the inner main asteroid belt. Recent work has suggested the inner Main Belt (142) Polana family as the possible origin of another low-{Delta}v B-type NEA, (101955) 1999 RQ{sub 36}. A similar origin for (175706) 1996 FG{sub 3} would require delivery by the overlapping Jupiter 7:2 and Mars 5:9 mean motion resonances rather than the {nu}{sub 6}, and we find this to be a low probability, but possible, origin.
- OSTI ID:
- 22016105
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 748, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
PHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ∼2 m DIAMETER NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID 2015 TC25: A POSSIBLE BOULDER FROM E-TYPE ASTEROID (44) NYSA
ALBEDO PROPERTIES OF MAIN BELT ASTEROIDS BASED ON THE ALL-SKY SURVEY OF THE INFRARED ASTRONOMICAL SATELLITE AKARI