Minor Planets:Minor Planets:A StudyA Study

Rebecca Jensen-Clem, Rebekah Sokol, Jacob Shenker, Ben Blanchard, Damian Denis, Amy

Robertson, Elis Rivera Martinez, Sam Moss, Jake Turner, Augusta Runyon

Part 1: 2003 FX128Part 1: 2003 FX128

Centaur: A Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) that has drifted out of the Kuiper Belt and into the region between the orbits of Jupiter and Pluto.

FX128 is one of only two Centaurs that have been discovered.

Centaur: A Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) that has drifted out of the Kuiper Belt and into the region between the orbits of Jupiter and Pluto.

FX128 is one of only two Centaurs that have been discovered.

ObservationsObservations

◊ We used the prime focus camera on the 60" telescope to image FX128.

◊ Unfortunately, we encountered some unfavorable weather conditions.

◊ However, we were still able to obtain a usable image of the object.

◊ We used the prime focus camera on the 60" telescope to image FX128.

◊ Unfortunately, we encountered some unfavorable weather conditions.

◊ However, we were still able to obtain a usable image of the object.

Observations (cont'd)

• It took several images of various exposure times

• We used several of these images to determine the position of the KBO

Conclusions

We wanted to find the light curve of 2003 FX128

This was not possible, however, because we were only able to gather data over a single night.

Part 2: PallasPart 2: Pallas

We observed the asteroid Pallas twice over a 1.5 hour period.

Pallas is about 250 km radius and has a year of about 4.5 earth years.

It is relatively near and bright, making it an ideal candidate for observation.

We observed the asteroid Pallas twice over a 1.5 hour period.

Pallas is about 250 km radius and has a year of about 4.5 earth years.

It is relatively near and bright, making it an ideal candidate for observation.

ObservationsObservations

We took several exposures of Pallas at 0300 hours, and then at 0450 hours

This allowed us to see the movement of the asteroid over time, as seen on the next slide.

We took several exposures of Pallas at 0300 hours, and then at 0450 hours

This allowed us to see the movement of the asteroid over time, as seen on the next slide.

fin