TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterization of Near-Earth Asteroids Using KMTNET-SAAO
AU - Erasmus, N.
AU - Mommert, M.
AU - Trilling, D. E.
AU - Sickafoose, A. A.
AU - Van Gend, C.
AU - Hora, J. L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research has made use of the KMTNet system operated by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) and the data were obtained by observations made at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). This work is partially supported by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF). This work is supported in part by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under grant No. NNX15AE90G issued through the SSO Near-Earth Object Observations Program and in part by a grant from NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist. We thank the referee, Vishnu Reddy, for a useful review.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
PY - 2017/10
Y1 - 2017/10
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - minor planets, asteroids: individual (near-Earth objects)
KW - surveys
KW - techniques: photometric
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U2 - 10.3847/1538-3881/aa88be
DO - 10.3847/1538-3881/aa88be
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85031116853
VL - 154
JO - Astronomical Journal
JF - Astronomical Journal
SN - 0004-6256
IS - 4
M1 - 162
ER -