Related papers: The Design Reference Asteroid for the OSIRIS-REx M…
The Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa II mission is scheduled to rendezvous with and return a sample from the near-Earth asteroid (162173) 1999 JU3. Previous visible-wavelength spectra of this object show significant variability across…
In the 1-2.5 micron range, spectroscopic observations are made on the AcuA-spec asteroids, whose spectra were obtained in a continuous covered mode between 2.5-5.0 micron by AKARI. Based on the Bus-DeMeo taxonomy (DeMeo et al. 2009, Icarus,…
Between 2010 and 2017 we have collected new optical and radar observations of the potentially hazardous asteroid (2102)~Tantalus from the ESO NTT and Danish telescopes at the La Silla Observatory and from the Arecibo planetary radar. The…
We investigate the circumstellar dust properties of the oxygen-rich bipolar proto-planetary nebula IRAS 18276-1431 by means of two-dimensional radiative transfer simulations of the circumstellar dust shell. The model geometry is assumed to…
Chance-aligned sources or blended companions can cause false positives in planetary transit detections or simply bias the determination of the candidate properties. In the era of high-precision space-based photometers, the need for…
The near-Earth asteroid (98943) Torifune, previously designated 2001 CC$_{21}$, is the flyby target of the Hayabusa2 extended mission, nicknamed Hayabusa2$\#$ (SHARP: Small Hazardous Asteroid Reconnaissance Probe). The ground-based…
International and U.S. strategies and protocols have identified the need to develop rapid-response spacecraft reconnaissance capabilities as a priority to advance planetary defense readiness. A space-based reconnaissance response is…
We present the most precise to date orbital and physical parameters of the well known short period (P=5.975 d), eccentric (e=0.3) double-lined spectroscopic binary BY Draconis, a prototype of a class of late-type, active, spotted flare…
Artificial neural networks (ANN) have been successfully used in the last years to identify patterns in astronomical images. The use of ANN in the field of asteroid dynamics has been, however, so far somewhat limited. In this work we used…
We present comprehensive photometric characterisation of 2025 FA$_{22}$, a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) discovered on 29 March 2025 and observed during the seventh International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) coordinated campaign.…
The Polana-Eulalia Complex (PEC) is an Inner Main Belt, C-complex asteroid population that may be the source of the near-Earth asteroid spacecraft mission targets (101955) Bennu and (162173) Ryugu. Here, we report a size-based investigation…
In this paper we show that X-ray spectral observations of the ATHENA mission, which is planned to launch in 2031, can constrain the equation of state of superdense matter. We use our well-constrained continuum fitting method for mass and…
When creating asteroid regolith simulant, it is necessary to have a model of asteroid regolith to guide and to evaluate the simulant. We created a model through evaluation and synthesis of the available data sets including (1) the returned…
Near-Earth asteroid 162173 (1999 JU3) is a potential target of two asteroid sample return missions, not only because of its accessibility but also because of the first C-type asteroid for exploration missions. The lightcurve-related…
Near-Earth asteroid 162173 (1999 JU3) is the primary target of the Hayabusa-2 sample return mission, and a potential target of the Marco Polo sample return mission. Earth-based studies of this object are fundamental to these missions. We…
The asteroidal main belt is crossed by a web of mean-motion and secular resonances, that occur when there is a commensurability between fundamental frequencies of the asteroids and planets. Traditionally, these objects were identified by…
The influence of space weathering on the observed spectra of C-complex asteroids remains uncertain. This has long hindered our understanding of their composition through telescope observations. Multi-band imaging of Ryugu by ONC-T on…
The AKARI IRC All-sky survey provided more than twenty thousand thermal infrared observations of over five thousand asteroids. Diameters and albedos were obtained by fitting an empirically calibrated version of the standard thermal model to…
To accurately characterize the planets a star may be hosting, stellar parameters must first be well-determined. $\tau$ Ceti is a nearby solar analog and often a target for exoplanet searches. Uncertainties in the observed rotational…
We propose to use a modest fraction of the re-purposed Kepler mission time and apertures to greatly increase the quantity and quality of our knowledge of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) rotation and shape. NEAs are important for understanding…