J/A+A/479/877 Photometric variations of Eris (136199) (Duffard+, 2008)
A study of photometric variations on the dwarf planet (136199) Eris.
Duffard R., Ortiz J.L., Santos Sanz P., Mora A., Gutierrez P.J.,
Morales N., Guirado D.
<Astron. Astrophys. 479, 877 (2008)>
=2008A&A...479..877D 2008A&A...479..877D
ADC_Keywords: Minor planets ; Photometry
Keywords: Kuiper Belt - minor planets, asteroids -
planets and satellites: individual: Eris
Abstract:
Eris is the largest dwarf planet currently known in the solar system.
Knowled ge about its physical parameters is necessary to interpret the
characteristics of these kinds of bodies. The goal of this work is to
study Eris' short-term and long-term variability in order to determine
the amplitude of the light-curve, which can be linked to the degree of
elongation of the body or to the degree of albedo heterogeneity on the
surface of the dwarf planet. In addition, the rotation period can be
determined. CCD photometric observations of the trans Neptunian object
Eris in R band on 16 nights spanning two years were carried out using
the 1.5m telescope at Sierra Nevada Observatory (OSN), the 2.5m Isaac
Newton Telescope (INT) telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos
Observatory, and the 2.2m Telescope at Calar Alto Observatory. The
time-series analysis leads to indications of a short-term variability
whose nature is not clear. It could be real or a result of
data-reduction artifacts, such as contamination by close,
faint-background stars. The most significant periodicities are 14h or
its double, but other possibilities cannot be ruled out, like a 32h
weaker peak in the periodogram. As for the amplitude of the
light-curve, we get a peak-to-peak variability of 0.01±0.01mag. The
study of the long-term variability indicates that a long rotation
period cannot be rejected, but the amplitude would be smaller than
0.06mag. These results are compatible with a nearly spherical body
that has a homogeneous surface.
File Summary:
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FileName Lrecl Records Explanations
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ReadMe 80 . This file
table2.dat 26 437 Photometric variations
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Byte-by-byte Description of file: table2.dat
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Bytes Format Units Label Explanations
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1- 11 F11.3 d JD Julian Date (light-time corrected)
14- 20 F7.5 mag mag Relative magnitude
23- 26 F4.2 mag e_mag rms uncertainty on mag
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Acknowledgements:
R. Duffard, duffard(at)iaa.es
(End) Patricia Vannier [CDS] 22-Jan-2008