Centaurs and Scattered Disk Objects in the Thermal Infrared: Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE Observations
Abstract
The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) observed 52 Centaurs and Scattered Disk Objects in the thermal infrared, including discoveries of 15 previously unknown objects. At this writing, this is the largest published collection of thermal infrared measurements of Centaur and SDOs. We present analyses of these observations to estimate sizes and mean optical albedos derived from photometry of the WISE images taken simultaneously at wavelengths of 3.4, 4.6, 12, and 22 microns. We find mean visual-wavelength geometric albedos of 0.08, +/- 0.04 standard deviations, for the entire data set. Thermal fits yield average beaming parameters of 0.9 +/- 0.2 that are similar for both SDO and Centaur sub-classes, and there appears to be no trend of beaming with heliocentric distance. Raw cumulative size distributions for objects with diameters > 20 km yield size-frequency distribution power law indices ~ -1.7 +/- 0.3. The data also reveal a relation between albedo and color at the 3-sigma level, with those objects with visual-wavelength B-R colors < 1.4 magnitudes having significantly lower albedos than those with B-R colors exceeding 1.4 magnitudes. No significant relation between diameter and albedos is found. We will also discuss the implications of these survey results concerning the related comet and TNO populations.
- Publication:
-
AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #45
- Pub Date:
- October 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013DPS....4550806B