Characterization of Near-Earth Asteroids Using KMTNET-SAAO

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 c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astronomical journal 2017-10, Vol.154 (4), p.162
Main Authors: Erasmus, N., Mommert, M., Trilling, D. E., Sickafoose, A. A., van Gend, C., Hora, J. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ALGORITHMS
ASTEROIDS
Astronomy
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Broadband
DIAGRAMS
Field of view
Light curve
Machine learning
Microlenses
minor planets, asteroids: individual (near-Earth objects)
Near-Earth Objects
PLANETS
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
ROTATION
SOUTH AFRICA
SPECTROPHOTOMETRY
surveys
Taxonomy
techniques: photometric
TELESCOPES
VISIBLE RADIATION
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0004-6256
1538-3881
1538-3881
DOI:10.3847/1538-3881/aa88be