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dc.contributor.authorMommert, M.
dc.contributor.authorTrilling, D. E.
dc.contributor.authorBorth, D.
dc.contributor.authorJedicke, R.
dc.contributor.authorButler, N.
dc.contributor.authorReyes-Ruiz, M.
dc.contributor.authorPichardo, B.
dc.contributor.authorPetersen, E.
dc.contributor.authorAxelrod, T.
dc.contributor.authorMoskovitz, N.
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-24T22:07:49Z
dc.date.available2016-06-24T22:07:49Z
dc.date.issued2016-03-24
dc.identifier.citationFIRST RESULTS FROM THE RAPID-RESPONSE SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS USING UKIRT 2016, 151 (4):98 The Astronomical Journalen
dc.identifier.issn1538-3881
dc.identifier.doi10.3847/0004-6256/151/4/98
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10150/614713
dc.description.abstractUsing the Wide Field Camera for the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), we measure the near-infrared colors of near-Earth objects (NEOs) in order to put constraints on their taxonomic classifications. The rapid-response character of our observations allows us to observe NEOs when they are close to the Earth and bright. Here we present near-infrared color measurements of 86 NEOs, most of which were observed within a few days of their discovery, allowing us to characterize NEOs with diameters of only a few meters. Using machine-learning methods, we compare our measurements to existing asteroid spectral data and provide probabilistic taxonomic classifications for our targets. Our observations allow us to distinguish between S-complex, C/X-complex, D-type, and V-type asteroids. Our results suggest that the fraction of S-complex asteroids in the whole NEO population is lower than the fraction of ordinary chondrites in the meteorite fall statistics. Future data obtained with UKIRT will be used to investigate the significance of this discrepancy.
dc.description.sponsorshipM. Mommert would like to thank the UKIRT and CASU support staff, including, but not limited to, Watson Varricatt, Peter Milne, Tom Kerr, and Mike Irwin for their support in the observation planning and data processing. We thank an anonymous referee for useful suggestions. This material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Grant No. NNX15AE90G issued through the SSO Near Earth Object Observations Program. E. Petersen would like to thank the REU program at Northern Arizona University supported through NSF grant AST-1461200. The United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) is supported by NASA and operated under an agreement among the University of Hawaii, the University of Arizona, and Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center; operations are enabled through the cooperation of the Joint Astronomy Centre of the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the U.K. When part of the data reported here were acquired, UKIRT was operated by the Joint Astronomy Centre on behalf of the Science and Technology Facilities Council of the U.K. Some of the data reported here were obtained as part of the UKIRT Service Programme. Part of the data utilized in this publication were obtained and made available by the MIT-UH-IRTF Joint Campaign for NEO Reconnaissance. The IRTF is operated by the University of Hawaii under Cooperative Agreement no. NCC 5-538 with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Space Science, Planetary Astronomy Program. The MIT component of this work is supported by NASA grant 09-NEOO009-0001, and by the National Science Foundation under Grants Nos. 0506716 and 0907766. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASA or the National Science Foundation. Taxonomic type results presented in this work were determined in part using a Bus-DeMeo Taxonomy Classification Web tool by Stephen M. Slivan, developed at MIT with the support of National Science Foundation Grant 0506716 and NASA Grant NAG5-12355.en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherIOP PUBLISHING LTDen
dc.relation.urlhttp://stacks.iop.org/1538-3881/151/i=4/a=98?key=crossref.586876537ca861306915a40b994895c1en
dc.rights© 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.en
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
dc.subjectasteroids: individual (near-Earth objects)en
dc.subjectminor planetsen
dc.subjectsurveysen
dc.titleFIRST RESULTS FROM THE RAPID-RESPONSE SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF NEAR-EARTH OBJECTS USING UKIRTen
dc.typeArticleen
dc.contributor.departmentUniv Arizona, Steward Observen
dc.identifier.journalThe Astronomical Journalen
dc.description.collectioninformationThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.en
dc.eprint.versionFinal published versionen
refterms.dateFOA2018-04-25T21:32:46Z
html.description.abstractUsing the Wide Field Camera for the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT), we measure the near-infrared colors of near-Earth objects (NEOs) in order to put constraints on their taxonomic classifications. The rapid-response character of our observations allows us to observe NEOs when they are close to the Earth and bright. Here we present near-infrared color measurements of 86 NEOs, most of which were observed within a few days of their discovery, allowing us to characterize NEOs with diameters of only a few meters. Using machine-learning methods, we compare our measurements to existing asteroid spectral data and provide probabilistic taxonomic classifications for our targets. Our observations allow us to distinguish between S-complex, C/X-complex, D-type, and V-type asteroids. Our results suggest that the fraction of S-complex asteroids in the whole NEO population is lower than the fraction of ordinary chondrites in the meteorite fall statistics. Future data obtained with UKIRT will be used to investigate the significance of this discrepancy.


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