Hawaii Kuiper Belt Variability Project: An Update (original) (raw)

Abstract

We have been systematically monitoring a large sample of bright Kuiper Beltobjects for possible light variations due to rotational and phase angle effects.Here we report on three objects, 2003 AZ84, (24835) 1995 SM55and (55636) 2002 TX300 observed to have measurable rotational lightcurveswith peak-to-peak amplitudes of 0.14 ± 0.03, 0.19 ± 0.05 and 0.08 ± 0.02magnitudes and single-peaked periods of 6.71 ± 0.05, 4.04 ± 0.03 and8.12 ± 0.08 hours, respectively. We observed a further ten objects whichshowed no rotational photometric variation within measurement uncertainties.In addition, we find that the lightcurve of 1995 SM55 may have a variableamplitude. We discuss this peculiar object as well as our observations of the reportedlyvariable Kuiper Belt object (19308) 1996 TO66. Finally, we continue to find the phase functions of the Kuiper Belt objects to be very steep and linear, to firstorder, with a median slope of 0.16 ± 0.01 magnitudes per degree in the phaseangle range 0 to 2 degrees.

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1. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Dr., Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA
   Scott S. Sheppard & David C. Jewitt

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1. Scott S. Sheppard
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2. David C. Jewitt
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Sheppard, S.S., Jewitt, D.C. Hawaii Kuiper Belt Variability Project: An Update.Earth, Moon, and Planets 92, 207–219 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:MOON.0000031943.12968.46

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• Issue Date: June 2003
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:MOON.0000031943.12968.46

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