Size and Shape Constraints of (486958) Arrokoth from Stellar Occultations

• Autores: Buie, Marc W.; Porter, Simon B.; Tamblyn, Peter; Terrell, Dirk; Parker, Alex Harrison; Baratoux, David; Kaire, Maram; Leiva, Rodrigo; Verbiscer, Anne J.; Zangari, Amanda M.; Colas, François; Diop, Baidy Demba; Samaniego, Joseph I.; Wasserman, Lawrence H.; Benecchi, Susan D.; Caspi, Amir; Gwyn, Stephen; Kavelaars, J. J.; Ocampo Uría, Adriana C.; Rabassa, Jorge Oscar; Skrutskie, M. F.; Soto, Alejandro; Tanga, Paolo; Young, Eliot F.; Stern, S. Alan; Andersen, Bridget C.; Arango Pérez, Mauricio E.; Arredondo, Anicia; Artola, Rodolfo Alfredo; García Migani, Esteban Andrés
• Año de publicación: 2020
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Kuiper belt; Astrometry; Classical Kuiper belt objects; Stellar occultation
• Institución: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

We present the results from four stellar occultations by (486958) Arrokoth, the flyby target of the New Horizons extended mission. Three of the four efforts led to positive detections of the body, and all constrained the presence of rings and other debris, finding none. Twenty-five mobile stations were deployed for 2017 June 3 and augmented by fixed telescopes. There were no positive detections from this effort. The event on 2017 July 10 was observed by the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy with one very short chord. Twenty-four deployed stations on 2017 July 17 resulted in five chords that clearly showed a complicated shape consistent with a contact binary with rough dimensions of 20 by 30 km for the overall outline. A visible albedo of 10% was derived from these data. Twenty-two systems were deployed for the fourth event on 2018 August 4 and resulted in two chords. The combination of the occultation data and the flyby results provides a significant refinement of the rotation period, now estimated to be 15.9380 ± 0.0005 hr. The occultation data also provided high-precision astrometric constraints on the position of the object that were crucial for supporting the navigation for the New Horizons flyby. This work demonstrates an effective method for obtaining detailed size and shape information and probing for rings and dust on distant Kuiper Belt objects as well as being an important source of positional data that can aid in spacecraft navigation that is particularly useful for small and distant bodies.
Fil: Buie, Marc W.. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Porter, Simon B.. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Tamblyn, Peter. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Terrell, Dirk. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Parker, Alex Harrison. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Baratoux, David. Géosciences Environnement Toulouse; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia
Fil: Kaire, Maram. Ministry of Higher Education Research and Innovation; Senegal. Asociación Senegalesa para la Promoción de la Astronomía; Senegal
Fil: Leiva, Rodrigo. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Verbiscer, Anne J.. University of Virginia; Estados Unidos
Fil: Zangari, Amanda M.. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Colas, François. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Observatoire de Paris; Francia. Sorbonne University; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia
Fil: Diop, Baidy Demba. Direction de la Formation et de la Communication; Senegal
Fil: Samaniego, Joseph I.. University of Colorado; Estados Unidos
Fil: Wasserman, Lawrence H.. Lowell Observatory; Estados Unidos
Fil: Benecchi, Susan D.. Planetary Science Institute; Estados Unidos
Fil: Caspi, Amir. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Gwyn, Stephen. Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre; Canadá
Fil: Kavelaars, J. J.. Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre; Canadá
Fil: Ocampo Uría, Adriana C.. National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Estados Unidos
Fil: Rabassa, Jorge Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina
Fil: Skrutskie, M. F.. University of Virginia; Estados Unidos
Fil: Soto, Alejandro. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Tanga, Paolo. Université Côte d’Azur; Francia. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia
Fil: Young, Eliot F.. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Stern, S. Alan. Southwest Research Institute.; Estados Unidos
Fil: Andersen, Bridget C.. University of Virginia; Estados Unidos
Fil: Arango Pérez, Mauricio E.. Universidad de Antioquia; Colombia
Fil: Arredondo, Anicia. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Estados Unidos
Fil: Artola, Rodolfo Alfredo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba. Instituto de Astronomía Teórica y Experimental; Argentina
Fil: García Migani, Esteban Andrés. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Geofísica y Astronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina