Lightcurve Study of V-Type Asteroids Matt on Winski
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University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects January 2017 Lightcurve Study Of V-Type Asteroids Matt oN winski Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Recommended Citation Nowinski, Matt, "Lightcurve Study Of V-Type Asteroids" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 2301. https://commons.und.edu/theses/2301 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LIGHTCURVE STUDY OF V‐TYPE ASTEROIDS by Matthew Clarke Nowinski B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1991 M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1993 Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, EPFL, 1999 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Grand Forks, North Dakota December 2017 PERMISSION Title: Lightcurve Study Of V‐Type Asteroids Department: Space Studies Degree : Master of Science In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my thesis work or in his absence, by the chairperson of the department or the dean of Graduate School. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this thesis or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Matt Nowinski November 28, 2017 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... X ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................. XI ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. XIII CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 14 1.1 Asteroids ..................................................................................................... 19 1.1.1 Vesta ............................................................................................... 24 1.2 Meteorites .................................................................................................. 25 1.2.1 HED Meteorites .............................................................................. 27 1.3 Taxonomy ................................................................................................... 28 1.3.1 V‐Type Taxonomy ........................................................................... 30 1.4 Dynamics .................................................................................................... 33 1.4.1 Collisions and Asteroid Families ..................................................... 33 1.4.2 Resonances ..................................................................................... 35 1.4.3 Yarkovsky/YORP Effects .................................................................. 38 1.4.4 Rotation .......................................................................................... 42 1.4.5 Vesta Dynamical family (the “Vestoids”) ....................................... 43 1.5 Current Study ............................................................................................. 44 CHAPTER 2 ASTEROID ROTATION AND LIGHTCURVES ..................................................................... 46 iv 2.1 Rotation ...................................................................................................... 47 2.1.1 Principal Axis Rotation .................................................................... 48 2.1.2 Rotation Measurement .................................................................. 51 2.2 Lightcurve Photometry ............................................................................... 51 2.2.1 Lightcurve Database (LCDB) ........................................................... 53 2.3 Asteroid Population .................................................................................... 54 2.3.1 Spin Barrier ..................................................................................... 54 2.3.2 Maxwellian Distribution ................................................................. 57 2.4 Rotational Studies of Asteroid Families ..................................................... 60 CHAPTER 3 MEASUREMENTS AND DATA REDUCTION .................................................................... 63 3.1 Asteroid Observations ................................................................................ 63 3.1.1 Telescopes ...................................................................................... 64 3.1.2 Target Selection .............................................................................. 67 3.1.3 Observation Strategy ...................................................................... 68 3.2 Data Reduction ........................................................................................... 72 3.2.1 Calibration ...................................................................................... 73 3.2.2 Plate‐Solving (WCS) ........................................................................ 74 3.2.3 Photometry ..................................................................................... 75 3.2.4 MPO Canopus ................................................................................. 79 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS ........................................................................................... 82 4.1 Target Asteroids ......................................................................................... 82 4.2 Asteroid Lightcurve Measurements ........................................................... 86 v 4.2.1 (3648) Raffinetti ............................................................................. 87 4.2.2 (5235) Jean‐Loup ............................................................................ 88 4.2.3 (9223) Leifandersson ...................................................................... 91 4.2.4 (11699) 1998 FL105 ........................................................................ 93 4.2.5 (12073) Larimer .............................................................................. 94 4.2.6 (15121) 2000 EN14 ......................................................................... 95 4.2.7 (16452) Goldfinger ......................................................................... 98 4.2.8 (20557) Davidkulka ......................................................................... 99 4.2.9 (29796) 1999 CW .......................................................................... 100 4.2.10 (35821) 1999 JW50 ....................................................................... 102 4.3 Rotational Characteristics of V/Vp‐type Asteroids ................................... 104 4.3.1 Lightcurve Period vs. Diameter .................................................... 107 4.3.2 Lightcurve Amplitude vs. Spin Rate .............................................. 109 4.3.3 Maxwellian Distributions .............................................................. 111 CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................. 116 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................ 121 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Pyramid Model of Planetary Exploration ........................................................... 15 Figure 2. Distribution of Minor Planets: Semimajor Axis ................................................. 20 Figure 3. Distribution of Minor Planets: e vs. i ................................................................. 21 Figure 4. Cumulative Raw Size‐Frequency Distribution of Asteroids ............................... 22 Figure 5. Heliocentric Distribution of Asteroid Types (Simplified) ................................... 23 Figure 6. Heliocentric Distribution of Asteroid Types ....................................................... 24 Figure 7. Vp‐Type Asteroid Radial Distribution ................................................................. 32 Figure 8. Dynamic Asteroid Families ................................................................................. 35 Figure 9. The Kirkwood Gaps ............................................................................................ 36 Figure 10. Diurnal Yarkovsky Effect .................................................................................. 40 Figure 11. Yarkovsky Seasonal Effect ................................................................................ 41 Figure 12. Vesta Dynamical family of Asteroids ..............................................................