Detailed photometric characterization of `Oumuamua with Gemini North
Abstract
'Oumuamua is the first astronomical object known to science to have entered the Solar System from the interstellar space, having been ejected from its original planetary system. Using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, our team obtained the most detailed photometric characterization of this unique body. A combined ultra-deep image shows no signs of cometary activity, implying that the body is physically an asteroid, and an accurate light curve reveals an enormous range of brightness variation, suggesting a highly elongated shape. We also discovered that `Oumuamua is a non-principal-axis (or tumbling) rotation state, which is consistent with an ancient collision that occurred in the body's home planetary system.
- Publication:
-
European Planetary Science Congress
- Pub Date:
- September 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018EPSC...12.1118D