WISE/NEOWISE Observations of the Hilda Population: Preliminary Results
Abstract
We present the preliminary analysis of 1023 known asteroids in the Hilda region of the solar system observed by the NEOWISE component of the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The sizes of the Hildas observed range from ~3 to 200 km. We find no size-albedo dependency as reported by other projects. The albedos of our sample are low, with a weighted mean value of p_V = 0.055 ± 0.018, for all sizes sampled by the NEOWISE survey. We observed a significant fraction of the objects in the two known collisional families in the Hilda population. It is found that the Hilda collisional family is brighter, with a weighted mean albedo of p_V = 0.061 ± 0.011, than the general population and dominated by D-type asteroids, while the Schubart collisional family is darker, with a weighted mean albedo of p_V = 0.039 ± 0.013. Using the reflected sunlight in the two shortest WISE bandpasses, we are able to derive a method for taxonomic classification of ~10% of the Hildas detected in the NEOWISE survey. For the Hildas with diameter larger than 30 km, there are 67^(+7)_(–15)% D-type asteroids and 26^(+17)_(–5)% C-/P-type asteroids (with the majority of these being P-types).
Additional Information
© 2012 The American Astronomical Society. Received 2011 May 31; accepted 2011 September 29; published 2011 December 22. This publication makes use of data products from the Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer, which is a joint project of the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This publication also makes use of data products from NEOWISE, which is a project of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, funded by the Planetary Science Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We gratefully acknowledge the extraordinary services specific to NEOWISE contributed by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, operated by the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, operated by Harvard University. We also thank the worldwide community of dedicated amateur and professional astronomers devoted to minor planet follow-up observations. This research has made use the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.Attached Files
Published - Grav2012p16945Astrophys_J.pdf
Files
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:bced6fd891566ac7e6fbe53563c5b5d8
|
3.6 MB | Preview Download |
Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 29037
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20120131-100049625
- NASA
- Created
-
2012-01-31Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)