"TNOs are Cool": A survey of the trans-Neptunian region: VII. Size and surface characteristics of (90377) Sedna and 2010 EK 139
We present estimates of the basic physical properties (size and albedo) of (90377) Sedna, a prominent member of the detached trans-Neptunian object population and the recently discovered scattered disk object 2010 EK 139, based on the recent observations acquired with the Herschel Space Observatory,...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2012 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/423567 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/423567 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Kuiper belt objects: individual: (90377) Sedna Radiation mechanisms: thermal Techniques: photometric KuKuiper belt objects: individual: 2010 EK139 |
| Sumario: | We present estimates of the basic physical properties (size and albedo) of (90377) Sedna, a prominent member of the detached trans-Neptunian object population and the recently discovered scattered disk object 2010 EK 139, based on the recent observations acquired with the Herschel Space Observatory, within the "TNOs are Cool!" key programme. Our modeling of the thermal measurements shows that both objects have larger albedos and smaller sizes than the previous expectations, thus their surfaces might be covered by ices in a significantly larger fraction. The derived diameter of Sedna and 2010 EK 139 are 995 ± 80 km and 470 +35 -10 km, while the respective geometric albedos are p V = 0.32 ± 0.06 and 0.25 +0.02 -0.05. These estimates are based on thermophysical model techniques. © 2012 ESO. |
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