Size and albedo of Kuiper belt object 55636 from a stellar occultation

J. L. Elliot (), M. J. Person, C. A. Zuluaga, A. S. Bosh, E. R. Adams, T. C. Brothers, A. A. S. Gulbis, S. E. Levine, M. Lockhart, A. M. Zangari, B. A. Babcock, K. DuPré, J. M. Pasachoff, S. P. Souza, W. Rosing, N. Secrest, L. Bright, E. W. Dunham, S. S. Sheppard, M. Kakkala, T. Tilleman, B. Berger, J. W. Briggs, G. Jacobson, P. Valleli, B. Volz, S. Rapoport, R. Hart, M. Brucker, R. Michel, A. Mattingly, L. Zambrano-Marin, A. W. Meyer, J. Wolf, E. V. Ryan, W. H. Ryan, K. Morzinski, B. Grigsby, J. Brimacombe, D. Ragozzine, H. G. Montano and A. Gilmore
Additional contact information
J. L. Elliot: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
M. J. Person: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
C. A. Zuluaga: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
A. S. Bosh: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
E. R. Adams: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
T. C. Brothers: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
A. A. S. Gulbis: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
S. E. Levine: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
M. Lockhart: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
A. M. Zangari: Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
B. A. Babcock: Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267, USA
K. DuPré: Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267, USA
J. M. Pasachoff: Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267, USA
S. P. Souza: Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267, USA
W. Rosing: Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Santa Barbara, California 93117, USA
N. Secrest: University of Hawai’i, Hilo, Hawai’i 96720-4091, USA
L. Bright: Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USA
E. W. Dunham: Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USA
S. S. Sheppard: Carnegie Institution of Washington
M. Kakkala: University of Hawai’i, Leeward Community College, Pearl City, Hawai’i 96782, USA
T. Tilleman: United States Naval Observatory (USNO), Flagstaff, Arizona 86001, USA
B. Berger: Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
J. W. Briggs: Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
G. Jacobson: Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
P. Valleli: Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
B. Volz: Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, Westford, Massachusetts 01886, USA
S. Rapoport: Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mt Stromlo Observatory, Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory 2611, Australia
R. Hart: Mt Kent Observatory, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia
M. Brucker: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588, USA
R. Michel: Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 877, 22800 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
A. Mattingly: IBM, St Leonards, New South Wales 2065, Australia
L. Zambrano-Marin: Nompuewenu Observatory, University of Texas Brownsville/Texas Southmost College, Brownsville, Texas 78520, USA
A. W. Meyer: SOFIA, Universities Space Research Association, NASA Ames, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
J. Wolf: SOFIA, Deutsches SOFIA Institute, NASA Ames, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA
E. V. Ryan: Magdalena Ridge Observatory, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico 87801, USA
W. H. Ryan: Magdalena Ridge Observatory, New Mexico Tech, Socorro, New Mexico 87801, USA
K. Morzinski: University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
B. Grigsby: University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
J. Brimacombe: James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia
D. Ragozzine: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
H. G. Montano: Observatorio Astronómico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua
A. Gilmore: Mt John University Observatory

Nature, 2010, vol. 465, issue 7300, 897-900

Abstract: A second look at KBO 55636 Kuiper belt objects (KBOs), small icy bodies orbiting in the Solar System beyond Neptune, are difficult observational targets. Occasionally one is spotted causing a stellar occultation, when data relevant to its structure can be obtained and a few properties deduced. But the stellar occultation of 9 October 2009, involving KBO 55636, a member of the water-ice rich Haumea collisional family, was a landmark event taking the observational astronomy of KBOs to a new level. Following several years of tracking of bright KBOs, it was possible to predict an imminent occultation, and to train a number of telescopes in its direction. Despite the vagaries of weather and other observational hazards, more than one (in fact two) separate telescopes were able to make the observation. With two different angles of view to work with, more accurate figures can be calculated: KBO 55636's mean radius of 143 ± 5 km, and its geometric albedo of about 0.9 in the V band, reveal it to be smaller than previously thought and, like its parent body, highly reflective. The dynamical age implies either that KBO 55636 has an active resurfacing mechanism, or that fresh water ice can persist for billions of years in the outer reaches of the Solar System.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09109

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