The color and binarity of (486958) 2014 MU69 and other long-range New Horizons Kuiper Belt targets

Benecchi, Susan; Borncamp, David; Parker, A. H.; Noll, K. S.; Binzel, Richard P.; Stern, S. A.; Verbiscer, A.; Kavelaars, J. J.; Zangari, A. M.; Spencer, J. R.; Weaver, H. A.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2019.01.025

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…If the measured value of the absolute magnitude changes, the values of the geometric albedo and normal reflectances will change accordingly. We do not expect the visible absolute magnitude to differ substantially from the color-adjusted, weighted mean we calculated above, from the measurements in Benecchi et al, 2019a;2019b, but are explicitly acknowledging this sensitivity. The relative variations of the normal reflectance of Arrokoth's surface in the normal reflectance map, however, are not affected by the absolute magnitude.…”

Section: Normal Reflectance and Geometric Albedo Of (486958) Arrokothcontrasting

confidence: 48%

“…filter (Benecchi et al, 2019a) and we calculate that the weighted mean of all the reported measurements is 350 = 10.47. Using the observed color of Arrokoth (Benecchi et al, 2019b) this corresponds to a Johnson V-band absolute magnitude in the Vega-magnitude system of = 10.40. The apparent solar magnitude in this system is -26.76 (Willmer, 2018 (Benecchi et al, 2019a).…”

Section: Normal Reflectance and Geometric Albedo Of (486958) Arrokothmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Photometry of Kuiper belt object (486958) Arrokoth from New Horizons LORRI

Hofgartner

Buratti

Benecchi

et al. 2021

Icarus

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On January 1st 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft flew by the classical Kuiper belt object (486958) Arrokoth (provisionally designated 2014 MU69), possibly the most primitive object ever explored by a spacecraft. The I/F of Arrokoth is analyzed and fit with a photometric function that is a linear combination of the Lommel-Seeliger (lunar) and Lambert photometric functions. Arrokoth has a geometric albedo of = 0.21 −0.04 +0.05 at a wavelength of 550 nm and  0.24 at 610 nm. Arrokoth's geometric albedo is greater than the median but consistent with a distribution of cold classical Kuiper belt objects whose geometric albedos were determined by fitting a thermal model to radiometric observations. Thus, Arrokoth's geometric albedo adds to the orbital and spectral evidence that it is a cold classical Kuiper belt object. Maps of the normal reflectance and hemispherical albedo of Arrokoth are presented. The normal reflectance of Arrokoth's surface varies with location, ranging from  0.10 -0.40 at 610 nm with an approximately Gaussian distribution. Both Arrokoth's extrema dark and extrema bright surfaces are correlated totopographic depressions. Arrokoth has a bilobate shape and the two lobes have similar normal reflectance distributions: both are approximately Gaussian, peak at  0.25 at 610 nm, and range from  0.10 -0.40, which is consistent with co-formation and co-evolution of the two lobes. The hemispherical albedo of Arrokoth varies substantially with both incidence angle and location, the average hemispherical albedo at 610 nm is 0.063  0.015. The Bond albedo of Arrokoth at 610 nm is 0.062  0.015.

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Section: Normal Reflectance and Geometric Albedo Of (486958) Arrokothcontrasting

confidence: 48%

Section: Normal Reflectance and Geometric Albedo Of (486958) Arrokothmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photometry of Kuiper belt object (486958) Arrokoth from New Horizons LORRI

Hofgartner

Buratti

Benecchi

et al. 2021

Icarus

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“…While the GO-13716 2011 JX 31 observations were subframed, the star density was still high enough that we were able to use the same star fitting technique on them. The color results of these observations have been published in Benecchi et al (2019), so here we only describe the orbit determination and occultation search.…”

Section: Hst Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Orbits and Occultation Opportunities of 15 TNOs Observed by New Horizons

et al. 2022

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We present high-precision orbits for 15 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) that have been observed by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft at distances from 0.092 to 2.2 au. We also give predictions of 66 future opportunities to observe stellar occultations by them in late 2021–2029, eight of which are possible to observe from the United States. Observation of these stellar occultations would allow searches for more contact-binary TNOs like the New Horizons flyby target (486958) Arrokoth. In addition, measuring the sizes and albedos of more TNOs helps to better calibrate models of the size–frequency distribution of the broader Kuiper Belt. The 15 TNOs we investigate are unique in that they have been observed by the New Horizons spacecraft, providing high-parallax observations that greatly help to restrict the uncertainty of their orbits. Our orbit determinations combine detailed analyses of observations from the Magellan, Subaru, and CTIO ground-based observatories; the Hubble Space Telescope; and the New Horizons spacecraft. They are referenced to the Gaia DR2 star catalog, while the occultation predictions use the latest Gaia EDR3 catalog for the occultation stars. Our analysis allows us to understand the uncertainties for all of our predicted occultation opportunities and thus the need for additional astrometry, if any, to observe these events and measure the sizes and shapes of small–midsize TNOs.

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“…Thus, we do not claim that HK 103 is binary based on the New Horizons 1 × 1 data. HST observations of HK 103 also did not show any direct evidence of binarity (Benecchi et al 2019), albeit at ∼10× poorer spatial resolution than provided by the New Horizons program. The lightcurves of HK 103 at multiple solar phase angles derived from LORRI 4 × 4 data (Verbiscer et al 2019) reveal a relatively short rotational period (10.83012 h) with an amplitude that varies from 0.2 mag at a phase angle of 51°to 0.9 mag at a phase angle of 96°and do not show any evidence of binarity.…”

Section: Sd 2011 Hk 103mentioning

confidence: 89%

High-resolution Search for Kuiper Belt Object Binaries from New Horizons

Weaver¹,

Porter²,

Spencer³

2022

Planet. Sci. J.

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Using the New Horizons LOng Range Reconnaissance Imager camera, we searched for satellites near five Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs): four cold classicals (CCs: 2011 JY31, 2014 OS393, 2014 PN70, 2011 HZ102) and one scattered disk (SD) object (2011 HK103). These objects were observed at distances of 0.092–0.290 au from the New Horizons spacecraft, achieving spatial resolutions of 136–430 km (resolution ∼2 camera pixels), much higher than possible from any other facilities. Here we report that CC 2011 JY31 is a binary system with roughly equal brightness components, CC 2014 OS393 is likely an equal-brightness binary system, while the three other KBOs did not show any evidence of binarity. The JY31 binary has a semimajor axis of 198.6 ± 2.9 km, an orbital inclination of 61.°34 ± 1.°34, and an orbital period of 1.940 ± 0.002 days. The OS393 binary objects have an apparent separation of ∼150 km, making JY31 and OS393 the tightest KBO binary systems ever resolved. Both HK103 and HZ102 were detected with a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) ≈ 10, and our observations rule out equal-brightness binaries with separations larger than ∼430 km and ∼260 km, respectively. The spatial resolution for PN70 was ∼200 km, but this object had a S/N ≈ 2.5–3, which limited our ability to probe its binarity. The binary frequency for the CC binaries probed in our small survey (67%, not including PN70) is consistent with the high binary frequency suggested by larger surveys of CCs and recent planetesimal formation models, but we extend the results to smaller orbit semimajor axes and smaller objects than previously possible.

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The color and binarity of (486958) 2014 MU69 and other long-range New Horizons Kuiper Belt targets

Cited by 17 publications

References 46 publications

Photometry of Kuiper belt object (486958) Arrokoth from New Horizons LORRI

Photometry of Kuiper belt object (486958) Arrokoth from New Horizons LORRI

Orbits and Occultation Opportunities of 15 TNOs Observed by New Horizons

High-resolution Search for Kuiper Belt Object Binaries from New Horizons

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