HIGH-PRECISION PHOTOMETRY OF EXTREME KBO 2003 EL{sub 61}

Journal Article · Thu May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008 · Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/135/5/1749; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)· OSTI ID:21301206

Lacerda, Pedro; Jewitt, David; Peixinho, Nuno ^[1]

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1. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)

We present high-precision, time-resolved, visible and near-infrared photometry of the large (diameter {approx} 2500 km) Kuiper belt object (136108) 2003 EL{sub 61}. The new data confirm rapid rotation at period P = 3.9155 {+-} 0.0001 h with a peak-to-peak photometric range of {delta}m{sub R} = 0.29 {+-} 0.02 mag and further show subtle but reproducible color variations with rotation. Rotational deformation of 2003 EL{sub 61} alone would give rise to a symmetric light curve free of color variations. The observed photometric deviations from the best-fit equilibrium model show the existence of a large surface region with an albedo and color different from the mean surface of 2003 EL{sub 61}. We explore constraints on the nature of this anomalous region set by the existing data.

• OSTI ID: 21301206
• Journal Information: Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online), Vol. 135, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-6256/135/5/1749; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1538-3881
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
ALBEDO
ASTEROIDS
COLOR
DATA ANALYSIS
PHOTOMETRY
PLANETS
ROTATION
SOLAR SYSTEM
TIME RESOLUTION