Related papers: Multiple Asteroid Systems: Dimensions and Thermal …
The bulk density of an asteroid informs us about its interior structure and composition. To constrain the bulk density one needs an estimate for the mass of the asteroid. The mass is estimated by analyzing an asteroid's gravitational…
Extreme eclipsing binaries may harbor peculiar physical properties. In this work, we aim to identify a sample of such systems by selecting binaries with pronounced eclipsing light curves, characterized of large variability ($\Delta…
Binary stars make up a significant portion of all stellar systems. Consequently, an understanding of the bulk properties of binary stars is necessary for a full picture of star formation. Binary surveys indicate that both multiplicity…
M dwarfs are prominent targets of planet search projects, and their chemical composition is crucial to understanding the formation process or interior of orbiting exoplanets. However, measurements of elemental abundances of M dwarfs have…
The larger number of models of asteroid shapes and their rotational states derived by the lightcurve inversion give us better insight into both the nature of individual objects and the whole asteroid population. With a larger statistical…
We report new spectroscopic and photometric observations of the parent stars of the recently discovered transiting planets TrES-3 and TrES-4. A detailed abundance analysis based on high-resolution spectra yields [Fe/H] $= -0.19\pm 0.08$,…
Binary systems comprise approximately 15 per cent of the near-Earth asteroid population, yet thermal-infrared data are often interpreted for these bodies as if they are single objects. Thermal-IR light curves of binary asteroids (3905)…
Due to the high-precision nature of the ASTROD (Astrodynamical Space Test of Relativity using Optical Devices) mission concept, the asteroid perturbations on the ASTROD spacecraft is crucial. These perturbations need to be modelled and…
Detailed chemical analyses of M dwarfs are scarce but necessary to constrain the formation environment and internal structure of planets being found around them. We present elemental abundances of 13 M dwarfs (2900 < Teff < 3500 K) observed…
Knowledge of the surface thermal inertia of an asteroid can provide insight into surface structure: porous material has a lower thermal inertia than rock. We develop a means to estimate thermal inertia values of asteroids and use it to show…
Spitzer and Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) images and spectrophotometry of epsilon Eridani at wavelengths from 3.5 to 350 um reveal new details of its bright debris disk. The 350 um map confirms the presence of a ring at r = 11-28…
The last several years have brought about a dynamic shift in the view of exoplanetary systems in the post-main sequence, perhaps epitomized by the evidence for surviving rocky planetary bodies at white dwarfs. Coinciding with the launch of…
Using high-resolution echelle spectra obtained with Magellan/MIKE, we present a chemical abundance analysis of both stars in the planet-hosting wide binary system HD20782 + HD20781. Both stars are G dwarfs, and presumably coeval, forming in…
Observations of debris disks offer a window into the physical and dynamical properties of planetesimals in extrasolar systems through the size distribution of dust grains. In particular, the millimeter spectral index of thermal dust…
We present initial results from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), a four-band all-sky thermal infrared survey that produces data well suited to measuring the physical properties of asteroids, and the NEOWISE enhancement to the…
We present VRI spectrophotometry of 1003 Main-Belt Asteroids (MBAs) observed with the Sutherland, South Africa, node of the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet). All of the observed MBAs were serendipitously captured in KMTNet's…
Context. Mars-crossing asteroids (MCs) are a dynamically unstable group between the main belt and the near-Earth populations. Characterising the physical properties of a large sample of MCs can help to understand the original sources of…
We have analyzed Spitzer and NASA/IRTF 2 - 35 \mum spectra of the warm, ~350 K circumstellar dust around the nearby MS star {\eta} Corvi (F2V, 1.4 \pm 0.3 Gyr). The spectra show clear evidence for warm, water- and carbon-rich dust at ~3 AU…
We present near- and mid-infrared photometry and spectroscopy from PAIRITEL, IRTF, and Spitzer of a metallicity-unbiased sample of 117 cool, hydrogen-atmosphere white dwarfs from the Palomar-Green survey and find five with excess radiation…
Nine metal-polluted white dwarfs are observed with medium-resolution optical spectroscopy,where photospheric abundances are determined and interpreted through comparison against solar system objects. An improved method of making such…