| 1. |
- Fedorets, Grigori, et al.
(författare)
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Establishing Earth's Minimoon Population through Characterization of Asteroid 2020 CD3
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomical Journal. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 160:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on our detailed characterization of Earth's second known temporary natural satellite, or minimoon, asteroid 2020 CD3. An artificial origin can be ruled out based on its area-to-mass ratio and broadband photometry, which suggest that it is a silicate asteroid belonging to the S or V complex in asteroid taxonomy. The discovery of 2020 CD3 allows for the first time a comparison between known minimoons and theoretical models of their expected physical and dynamical properties. The estimated diameter of (+0.4, -0.2) m and geocentric capture approximately a decade after the first known minimoon, 2006 RH120, are in agreement with theoretical predictions. The capture duration of 2020 CD3 of at least 2.7 yr is unexpectedly long compared to the simulation average, but it is in agreement with simulated minimoons that have close lunar encounters, providing additional support for the orbital models. 2020 CD3's atypical rotation period, significantly longer than theoretical predictions, suggests that our understanding of meter-scale asteroids needs revision. More discoveries and a detailed characterization of the population can be expected with the forthcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
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| 2. |
- Chesley, Steven R., et al.
(författare)
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Development of a Realistic Set of Synthetic Earth Impactor Orbits
- 2019
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Ingår i: 2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference. - : IEEE.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a refined method for creating orbits of fictitious Earth impactors that are representative of the actual impactor population. Such orbits are crucial inputs to a variety of investigations, such as those that seek to discern how well and how early a particular asteroid survey can detect impactors, or to understand the progression of impact probability as an object is tracked after discovery. We will describe our method, which relies on Öpik's b-plane formalism, and place it in context with previous approaches. While the Öplk framework assumes the restricted three body problem with a circular Earth orbit, our final synthetic impactors are differentially corrected to ensure an impact in the N-body dynamics of the solar system. We also test the validity of the approach through brute force numerical tests, demonstrating that the properties of our synthetic impactor population are consistent with the underlying Near-Earth Object (NEO) population from which it is derived. The impactor population is, however, distinct from the NEO population, not only by virtue of the proximity of the asteroid orbit to that of the Earth, but also because low encounter velocities are strongly favored. Thus the impacting population has an increased prominence of low inclination and low eccentricity orbits, and Earth-like orbits in particular, as compared to the NEO population as a whole.
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| 3. |
- Fedorets, Grigori, et al.
(författare)
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Discovering Earth’s transient moons with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
- 2020
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Ingår i: Icarus. - : Elsevier. - 0019-1035 .- 1090-2643. ; 338
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Earth's temporarily-captured orbiters (TCOs) are a sub-population of near-Earth objects (NEOs). TCOs can provide constraints for NEO population models in the 1–10-metre-diameter range, and they are outstanding targets for in situ exploration of asteroids due to a low requirement on Δv. So far there has only been a single serendipitous discovery of a TCO. Here we assess in detail the possibility of their discovery with the upcoming Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), previously identified as the primary facility for such discoveries. We simulated observations of TCOs by combining a synthetic TCO population with an LSST survey simulation. We then assessed the detection rates, detection linking and orbit computation, and sources for confusion. Typical velocities of detectable TCOs will range from 1∘/day to 50∘/day, and typical apparent V magnitudes from 21 to 23. Potentially-hazardous asteroids have observational characteristics similar to TCOs, but the two populations can be distinguished based on their orbits with LSST data alone. We predict that a TCO can be discovered once every year with the baseline moving-object processing system (MOPS). The rate can be increased to one TCO discovery every two months if tools complementary to the baseline MOPS are developed for the specific purpose of discovering these objects.
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| 4. |
- Jedicke, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Earth's Minimoons: Opportunities for Science and Technology
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-987X. ; 5
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Twelve years ago the Catalina Sky Survey discovered Earth's first known natural geocentric object other than the Moon, a few-meter diameter asteroid designated 2006 RH120. Despite significant improvements in ground-based telescope and detector technology in the past decade the asteroid surveys have not discovered another temporarily-captured orbiter (TCO; colloquially known as minimoons) but the all-sky fireball system operated in the Czech Republic as part of the European Fireball Network detected a bright natural meteor that was almost certainly in a geocentric orbit before it struck Earth's atmosphere. Within a few years the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will either begin to regularly detect TCOs or force a re-analysis of the creation and dynamical evolution of small asteroids in the inner solar system. The first studies of the provenance, properties, and dynamics of Earth's minimoons suggested that there should be a steady state population with about one 1- to 2-m diameter captured objects at any time, with the number of captured meteoroids increasing exponentially for smaller sizes. That model was then improved and extended to include the population of temporarily-captured flybys (TCFs), objects that fail to make an entire revolution around Earth while energetically bound to the Earth-Moon system. Several different techniques for discovering TCOs have been considered but their small diameters, proximity, and rapid motion make them challenging targets for existing ground-based optical, meteor, and radar surveys. However, the LSST's tremendous light gathering power and short exposure times could allow it to detect and discover many minimoons. We expect that if the TCO population is confirmed, and new objects are frequently discovered, they can provide new opportunities for (1) studying the dynamics of the Earth-Moon system, (2) testing models of the production and dynamical evolution of small asteroids from the asteroid belt, (3) rapid and frequent low delta-v missions to multiple minimoons, and (4) evaluating in-situ resource utilization techniques on asteroidal material. Here we review the past decade of minimoon studies in preparation for capitalizing on the scientific and commercial opportunities of TCOs in the first decade of LSST operations.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Nesvorný, David, et al.
(författare)
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NEOMOD: A New Orbital Distribution Model for Near-Earth Objects
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomical Journal. - : Institute of Physics (IOP). - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 166:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are a transient population of small bodies with orbits near or in the terrestrial planet region. They represent a mid-stage in the dynamical cycle of asteroids and comets, which starts with their removal from the respective source regions—the main belt and trans-Neptunian scattered disk—and ends as bodies impact planets, disintegrate near the Sun, or are ejected from the solar system. Here we develop a new orbital model of NEOs by numerically integrating asteroid orbits from main-belt sources and calibrating the results on observations of the Catalina Sky Survey. The results imply a size-dependent sampling of the main belt with the ν 6 and 3:1 resonances producing ≃30% of NEOs with absolute magnitudes H = 15 and ≃80% of NEOs with H = 25. Hence, the large and small NEOs have different orbital distributions. The inferred flux of H < 18 bodies into the 3:1 resonance can be sustained only if the main-belt asteroids near the resonance drift toward the resonance at the maximal Yarkovsky rate (≃2 × 10−4 au Myr−1 for diameter D = 1 km and semimajor axis a = 2.5 au). This implies obliquities θ ≃ 0° for a < 2.5 au and θ ≃ 180° for a > 2.5 au, both in the immediate neighborhood of the resonance (the same applies to other resonances as well). We confirm the size-dependent disruption of asteroids near the Sun found in previous studies. An interested researcher can use the publicly available NEOMOD Simulator to generate user-defined samples of NEOs from our model.
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