FIRST RESULTS FROM THE RAPID-RESPONSE SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS USING UKIRT

Journal Article · Fri Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Astronomical Journal (Online)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-6256/151/4/98· OSTI ID:22519973

Mommert, M.; Trilling, D. E.; Petersen, E. ^[1]; Borth, D. ^[2]; Jedicke, R. ^[3]; Butler, N. ^[4]; Reyes-Ruiz, M. ^[5]; Pichardo, B. ^[6]; Axelrod, T. ^[7]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States)
2. Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz (DFKI), D-67663 Kaiserslautern (Germany)
3. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
4. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States)
5. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Astronomía, Ensenada, B.C. 22860, México (Mexico)
6. Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, D.F. 04510, México (Mexico)
7. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

Using the Wide Field Camera for the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), we measure the near-infrared colors of near-Earth objects (NEOs) in order to put constraints on their taxonomic classifications. The rapid-response character of our observations allows us to observe NEOs when they are close to the Earth and bright. Here we present near-infrared color measurements of 86 NEOs, most of which were observed within a few days of their discovery, allowing us to characterize NEOs with diameters of only a few meters. Using machine-learning methods, we compare our measurements to existing asteroid spectral data and provide probabilistic taxonomic classifications for our targets. Our observations allow us to distinguish between S-complex, C/X-complex, D-type, and V-type asteroids. Our results suggest that the fraction of S-complex asteroids in the whole NEO population is lower than the fraction of ordinary chondrites in the meteorite fall statistics. Future data obtained with UKIRT will be used to investigate the significance of this discrepancy.

• OSTI ID: 22519973
• Journal Information: Astronomical Journal (Online), Vol. 151, Issue 4; Other Information: 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
ASTEROIDS
CAMERAS
CHONDRITES
CLASSIFICATION
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
LIMITING VALUES
PLANETS
PROBABILISTIC ESTIMATION
SPECTROPHOTOMETRY
STATISTICS
TELESCOPES