Published October 1, 2017 | Version v1
Journal article

Characterization of Near-Earth Asteroids Using KMTNET-SAAO

  • 1. South African Astronomical Observatory, Cape Town, 7925 (South Africa)
  • 2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (United States)
  • 3. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138-1516 (United States)

Description

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.

Availability note (English)

Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/aa88be

Additional details

Identifiers

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)
Journal Volume
154
Journal Issue
4
Journal Page Range
[10 p.]
ISSN
1538-3881

INIS

Country of Publication
United States
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
49008624
Subject category
S79: ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY;
Descriptors DEI
ALGORITHMS; ASTEROIDS; DIAGRAMS; PLANETS; REPUBLIC OF KOREA; ROTATION; SOUTH AFRICA; SPECTROPHOTOMETRY; TELESCOPES; VISIBLE RADIATION
Descriptors DEC
AFRICA; ASIA; DEVELOPED COUNTRIES; DEVELOPING COUNTRIES; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; INFORMATION; MATHEMATICAL LOGIC; MOTION; RADIATIONS