29 November 2011 stellar occultation by 2060 Chiron: Symmetric jet-like features
Abstract
On 29 November 2011 UT, 2060 Chiron occulted a R = 14.9-mag star; data were successfully obtained at the 3-m NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea and 2-m Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) Faulkes Telescope North (FTN) at Haleakala. The MORIS lightcurve shows a solid-body detection of Chiron's nucleus with a chord duration of 16.0 ± 1.4 s, corresponding to a chord length of 158 ± 14 km. Symmetric, dual extinction features in the FTN light curve indicate the presence of optically thick material roughly 300 km from the body midpoint. The duration of the features indicates a 3 ± 2 km feature separated by 10-14 km from a second 7 ± 2 km feature. The symmetry, optical thickness, and narrow size of these features allow for the intriguing possibility of a near-circular arc or shell of material.
- Publication:
-
Icarus
- Pub Date:
- May 2015
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.icarus.2015.01.015
- Bibcode:
- 2015Icar..252..271R
- Keywords:
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- Comets;
- nucleus;
- dust;
- Centaurs;
- Occultations