Related papers: Dumb-bell-shaped equilibrium figures for fiducial …
Context. The recent estimates of the 3D shape of the M/Xe-type triple asteroid system (216) Kleopatra indicated a density of 5 g.cm$^{-3}$. Such a high density implies a high metal content and a low porosity which is not easy to reconcile…
To take full advantage of the September 2008 opposition passage of the M-type asteroid (216) Kleopatra, we have used near-infrared adaptive optics (AO) imaging with the W.M. Keck II telescope to capture unprecedented high resolution images…
To interpret adaptive-optics observations of (216) Kleopatra, we need to describe an evolution of multiple moons, orbiting an extremely irregular body and including their mutual interactions. Such orbits are generally non-Keplerian and…
Every population of small bodies in the Solar system contains a sizable fraction of multiple systems. Among these, the Jupiter Trojans have the lowest number of known binary systems and the least characterized. We aim at characterizing the…
Observations of the Kuiper Belt indicate that a larger than expected percentage of KBO's (approximately 8 out of 500) are in binary pairs. The formation and survival of such objects presents a conundrum [1]. Two competing theories have been…
We present models of the shapes of four Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) and Jovian Trojan (624) Hektor as ellipsoidal figures of equilibrium and Roche binaries. Our simulations select those figures of equilibrium whose lightcurves best match the…
The Ch-type asteroid (130) Elektra is orbited by three moons, making it the first quadruple system in the main asteroid belt. We aim to characterise the irregular shape of Elektra and construct a complete orbital model of its unique moon…
The discovery of binary and triple asteroids in addition to the execution of space missions to minor celestial bodies in the past several years have focused increasing attention on periodic orbits around irregular-shaped celestial bodies.…
We combine different methods to investigate the rotation, determine the shape and estimate the density of near-Earth asteroid (153201) 2000 WO$_{107}$. We carried out photometric observations of the asteroid during the 2020 apparition. Then…
Images of the Kuiper belt object (126719) 2002 CC249 obtained in 2016 and 2017 using the 6.5m Magellan-Baade Telescope and the 4.3m Discovery Channel Telescope are presented. A lightcurve with a periodicity of 11.87+/-0.01 h and a…
Context. Various simplified models have been investigated to understand the complex dynamical environment near irregular asteroids. We propose a generalized dipole-segment model (GDSM) to describe the gravitational fields of elongated…
We investigate the problem of determining the shape of a rotating celestial object - e.g., a comet or an asteroid - under its own gravitational field. More specifically, we consider an object symmetric with respect to one axis - such as a…
Given the spin state by Magnusson (1990), the shape model by Ostro et al. (2000), and the mass by Descamps et al. (2011), this paper evaluates a dynamically and structurally stable size of Asteroid (216) Kleopatra. In particular, we…
The order and chaos of the motion near equilibrium points in the potential of a rotating highly irregular-shaped celestial body are investigated from point of view of the dynamical system theory. The positions of the non-degenerate…
We report high precision photometry of three small and one larger Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (ACS/HST). The three small bodies are the smallest KBOs for which…
We present numerical computations of the equilibrium configurations of tidally-locked homogeneous binaries, rotating in circular orbits. Unlike the classical Roche approximations, we self-consistently account for the tidal and rotational…
This work presents the simulation results of the radio science experiment onboard the proposed Heavy Metal mission to the M-type asteroid (216) Kleopatra. Earth-based radiometric measurements (range and range-rate), complemented by images…
Extensive time-resolved observations of Kuiper Belt object 2001 QG298 show a lightcurve with a peak-to-peak variation of 1.14 +-0.04 magnitudes and single-peaked period of 6.8872 +- 0.0002 hr. The mean absolute magnitude is 6.85 magnitudes…
The New Horizons mission has returned stunning images of the bilobate Kuiper belt object (486958) Arrokoth. It is a contact binary, formed from two intact and relatively undisturbed predecessor objects joined by a narrow contact region. We…
In 2003, we initiated a long-term adaptive optics campaign to study the orbit of various main-belt asteroidal systems. Here we present a consistent solution for the mutual orbits of four binary systems: 22 Kalliope, 45 Eugenia, 107 Camilla…