| Alternative title | The color and binarity of (486958) 2014 MU69 and other long-range New Horizons Kuiper Belt targets |
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| DOI | Resolve DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2019.01.025 |
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| Author | Search for: Benecchi, S. D.; Search for: Borncamp, D.; Search for: Parker, A. H.; Search for: Buie, M. W.; Search for: Noll, K. S.; Search for: Binzel, R. P.; Search for: Stern, S. A.; Search for: Verbiscer, A. J.; Search for: Kavelaars, J. J.1; Search for: Zangari, A. M.; Search for: Spencer, J. R.; Search for: Weaver, H. A. |
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| Affiliation | - National Research Council of Canada. Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics
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| Format | Text, Article |
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| Subject | Kuiper Belt; Photometry; Hubble Space Telescope observations |
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| Abstract | The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) measured the colors of eight Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) that will be observed by the New Horizons spacecraft including its 2019 close fly-by target the Cold Classical KBO (486958) 2014 MU₆₉. We find that the photometric colors of all eight objects are red, typical of the Cold Classical dynamical population within which most reside. Because 2014 MU₆₉ has a similar color to that of other KBOs in the Cold Classical region of the Kuiper Belt, it may be possible to use the upcoming high-resolution New Horizons observations of 2014 MU₆₉ to draw conclusions about the greater Cold Classical population. Additionally, HST found none of these KBOs to be binary within separations of ~0.06 arcsec (~2000 km at 44 AU range) and Δm ≤ 0.5. This conclusion is consistent with the lower fraction of binaries found at relatively wide separations. A few objects appear to have significant photometric variability, but our observations are not of sufficient signal-to-noise or time duration for further interpretation. |
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| Publication date | 2019-02-01 |
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| Publisher | Elsevier |
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| In | |
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| Language | English |
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| Peer reviewed | Yes |
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| Export citation | Export as RIS |
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| Report a correction | Report a correction (opens in a new tab) |
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| Record identifier | d841ea8c-cfa7-4f44-808a-fd31fea64d13 |
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| Record created | 2021-08-27 |
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| Record modified | 2021-08-27 |
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