Publication
Spitzer Survey of the Karin Cluster Asteroids
Harris, A. W., Mueller, M., Lisse, C., Cheng, A. & Osip, D., 1-Oct-2007, In : Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society. 39, p. 439Research output: Contribution to journal › Meeting Abstract › Academic

The Karin cluster is one of the youngest known families of main-belt
asteroids, dating back to a collisional event only 5.8 Myr ago. Using
the Spitzer Space Telescope we have sampled the thermal continua of 17
Karin cluster asteroids, down to the smallest members discovered so far,
in order to derive accurate sizes and study the physical properties of
their surfaces. The albedos of the observed Karins appear to be very
similar. The albedos, pv, have a mean of 0.17 and a standard deviation
of 0.04, compared to pv = 0.15 ± 0.05 for 832 Karin itself (for H
= 11.2 ± 0.3). The derived diameters range from 20 km for 832
Karin to 1.9 km for 93690, with uncertainties of 10%. The Karins data
show no evidence of albedo dependence on size, and the small range of
albedos is consistent with all program targets being S-type bodies.
There is some evidence for higher values of thermal inertia amongst the
smaller family members, which may be indicative of coarser regolith.
These results are preliminary, pending outstanding Spitzer observations
and further analysis.
This work is based on observations made with the Spitzer Space
Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 439 |
Journal | Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society |
Volume | 39 |
Publication status | Published - 1-Oct-2007 |
Event | 39th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, 2007 - Orlando, Florida, United States Duration: 7-Oct-2007 → 12-Oct-2007 |
Event
39th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, 2007
07/10/2007 → 12/10/2007
Orlando, Florida, United StatesEvent: Conference
ID: 20750509