Bibcode
Ieva, S.; Micheli, M.; Perna, D.; Popescu, M.; Dotto, E.; Mazzotta Epifani, E.; Antoniucci, S.; Fulvio, D.; Brucato, J. R.; Poggiali, G.; Barucci, M. A.; Perozzi, E.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 487, Issue 2, p.2335-2339
Advertised on:
8
2019
Citations
3
Refereed citations
2
Description
The distinction between active and inactive small bodies in the Solar
System has become more blended in recent years, with the discovery of
objects exhibiting a transient nature. The assumption of activity (past
or present) for a small body can be achieved indirectly by its
identification as the parent of a meteor shower. In this framework, the
near-Earth object (NEO) 2009 WN25 represents an interesting case study.
The target, recovered in 2015, is the likely progenitor of a complex
stream of meteor shower, and its peculiar high-eccentricity,
high-inclination orbit, with an aphelion as far as Jupiter, is
responsible for the meteoroid long-term stability. We investigated the
physical characteristics of 2009 WN25, by obtaining spectral
observations from ESO-NTT and ESO-VLT to constrain its surface
composition. We also compared the observed spectra with meteorite data
present in the RELAB database and obtained from other laboratories. We
found for 2009 WN25 a primitive D-type composition, in agreement with
being a cometary progenitor. The low-albedo nature we derived implies a
km-sized body, making it one of the few D-type NEOs in this size range.
The two spectra we obtained have a similar spectral slope in the 0.5-0.9
μm range, suggesting a possible homogeneous surface. Finally, by
comparison with meteorite data we found an association with an unaltered
sample of the rare meteorite Tagish Lake. All these evidences strongly
support the association with the meteoroid stream.
Related projects
Minor Bodies of the Solar System
This project studies the physical and compositional properties of the so-called minor bodies of the Solar System, that includes asteroids, icy objects, and comets. Of special interest are the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs), including those considered the most distant objects detected so far (Extreme-TNOs or ETNOs); the comets and the comet-asteroid
Julia de
León Cruz