Related papers: Time-Resolved Photometry of Kuiper Belt Objects: R…
Context: We use phase curves of small bodies to measure absolute magnitudes and, together with complementary theoretical and laboratory results, to understand their surfaces' micro and macroscopic properties. Although we can observe…
Kuiper belt objects smaller than a few kilometers are difficult to observe directly. They can be detected when they randomly occult a background star. Close to the ecliptic plane, each star is occulted once every tens of thousands of hours,…
Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) are considered to be among the most primitive objects in our Solar System. Knowledge of their primary physical properties is essential for understanding their origin and the evolution of the outer Solar…
Knowledge of the Kuiper Belt is currently limited to those objects that can be detected directly. Objects with diameters less than $\sim$10km reflect too little light to be detected. These smaller bodies could contain most of the mass in…
While satellites of mid- to small-Kuiper belt objects tend to be similar in size and brightness to their primaries, the largest Kuiper belt objects preferentially have satellites with small fractional brightness. In the two cases where the…
Brightness variations due to dark spots on the stellar surface encode information about stellar surface rotation and magnetic activity. In this work, we analyze the Kepler long-cadence data of 26,521 main-sequence stars of spectral types M…
Haumea is one of the most interesting and intriguing transneptunian objects (TNOs). It is a large, bright, fast rotator, and its spectrum indicates nearly pure water ice on the surface. It has at least two satellites and a dynamically…
We extend previous results showing that the surfaces of Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt objects are not primordial and have been moderately to heavily reworked by collisions. Objects smaller than about $r = 2.5$ km have collisional disruption…
We present several lines of evidence based on different kinds of observations to conclude that rotational fission has likely occurred for a fraction of the known Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). It is also likely that a number of binary…
Centaurs are the transitional population between trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and Jupiter-family comets. For this reason it is possible to access the smaller ones, which is more difficult to do with the TNO population. The goal of this…
We present the results of a wide-field survey designed to measure the size, inclination, and radial distributions of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs). The survey found 86 KBOs in 73 square degrees observed to limiting red magnitude 23.7 using the…
We have carried out long-term (14 years) V and R photometric monitoring of 12 carbon-rich proto-planetary nebulae. The light and color curves display variability in all of them. The light curves are complex and suggest multiple periods,…
In this paper we present visible range light curves of the irregular Uranian satellites Sycorax, Caliban, Prospero, Ferdinand and Setebos taken with Kepler Space Telescope in the course of the K2 mission. Thermal emission measurements…
Trans-Neptunian objects and Centaurs are small solar system bodies that reside in the outer parts of the solar system. These objects present photometric behaviours that are influenced due to a change in their aspect angle. Using absolute…
We present measurements at optical wavelengths of the spectral reflectance, rotational light curve, and solar phase curve of 2003 EL61. With apparent visual magnitude 17.5 at 51 AU from the sun, this newly discovered member of the classical…
We present new optical reflectance spectra of three potentially silicate-rich trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). These spectra were obtained with the aim of confirming past hints and detections of 0.7 micron absorption features associated with…
We present the discovery and initial physical and dynamical characterization of the object 2003 UB313. The object is sufficiently bright that for all reasonable values of the albedo it is certain to be larger than Pluto. Pre-discovery…
Observations of cooling neutron stars allow to measure photospheric radii and to constrain the equation of state of nuclear matter at high densities. In this paper we concentrate on neutron stars, which show thermal (photospheric) X-ray…
We have measured the separations and position angles of the two components of the binary transneptunian object 1997 CQ29 at eight epochs. From these data we are able to constrain the orbit and mass of this binary system. The best fitting…
(4) Vesta and (9) Metis are large main-belt asteroids with high albedos. With millimetre-observations at 93.0 and 95.5 GHz we characterised the emission properties of the surface material. The coverage of the full rotation period allowed a…