Origin of the Near-Ecliptic Circumsolar Dust Band
Abstract
The zodiacal dust bands are bright infrared (IR) strips produced by thermal emission from circumsolar rings of particles. Two of the three principal dust bands, known as β and γ, were previously linked to the recent asteroid collisions that produced groups of fragments, so-called asteroid families, near the orbits of (832) Karin and (490) Veritas. The origin of the third, near-ecliptic α band has been unknown until now. Here we report the discovery of a recent breakup of a >20 km diameter asteroid near α's originally suspected source location in the Themis family. Numerical modeling and observations of the α-band thermal emission from the Spitzer Space Telescope indicate that the discovered breakup is the source of α-band particles. The recent formation of all principal dust bands implies a significant time variability of the circumstellar debris disks.
Additional Information
© 2008. The American Astronomical Society. Received 2008 March 19; accepted 2008 April 8; published 2008 May 8. This Letter is based on work supported by the NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics program and Spitzer Cycle 1 grant entitled "The Production of Zodiacal Dust by Asteroids and Comets" (PID 2317, PI Sykes). The work of D. V. was supported by research grant 205/08/0064 of the Czech Grant Agency. We thank William Reach, Daniel Durda, Sumita Jayaraman, and Russell Walker for their contributions to planning and obtaining the Spitzer observations.Attached Files
Published - NESapjl08.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 11430
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:NESapjl08
- 2317
- NASA
- 205/08/0064
- Czech Grant Agency
- Created
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2008-08-14Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-08Created from EPrint's last_modified field