CENTAURS AND SCATTERED DISK OBJECTS IN THE THERMAL INFRARED: ANALYSIS OF WISE/NEOWISE OBSERVATIONS

Journal Article · Sat Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/773/1/22· OSTI ID:22140277

Bauer, James M. ^[1]; Grav, Tommy ^[2]; Blauvelt, Erin ^[1]; others, and

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1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 183-401, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
2. Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395 (United States)

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) observed 52 Centaurs and scattered disk objects (SDOs) in the thermal infrared, including 15 new discoveries. We present analyses of these observations to estimate sizes and mean optical albedos. We find mean albedos of 0.08 {+-} 0.04 for the entire data set. Thermal fits yield average beaming parameters of 0.9 {+-} 0.2 that are similar for both SDO and Centaur sub-classes. Biased cumulative size distributions yield size-frequency distribution power law indices of {approx}-1.7 {+-} 0.3. The data also reveal a relation between albedo and color at the 3{sigma} level. No significant relation between diameter and albedos is found.

• OSTI ID: 22140277
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 773, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ALBEDO
ASTEROIDS
COLOR
COMETS
DISTRIBUTION
INFRARED SURVEYS
PLANETS