Characterization of Near-Earth Asteroids Using KMTNET-SAAO

N. Erasmus, M. Mommert, D. E. Trilling, A. A. Sickafoose, C. Van Gend, J. L. Hora

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present here VRI spectrophotometry of 39 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) observed with the Sutherland, South Africa, node of the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet). Of the 39 NEAs, 19 were targeted, but because of KMTNet's large 2° ×2° field of view, 20 serendipitous NEAs were also captured in the observing fields. Targeted observations were performed within 44 days (median: 16 days, min: 4 days) of each NEA's discovery date. Our broadband spectrophotometry is reliable enough to distinguish among four asteroid taxonomies and we were able to confidently categorize 31 of the 39 observed targets as either an S-, C-, X-, or D-type asteroid by means of a Machine Learning algorithm approach. Our data suggest that the ratio between "stony" S-type NEAs and "not-stony" (C+X+D)-type NEAs, with H magnitudes between 15 and 25, is roughly 1:1. Additionally, we report ∼1 hr light curve data for each NEA, and of the 39 targets, we were able to resolve the complete rotation period and amplitude for six targets and report lower limits for the remaining targets.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number162
JournalAstronomical Journal
Volume154
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2017

Keywords

  • minor planets, asteroids: individual (near-Earth objects)
  • surveys
  • techniques: photometric

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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