The near-Earth asteroid 2010 TD54: The fastest rotating natural body known in the solar system?
ATel #2984; M. Hicks (JPL/Caltech), H. Rhoades (JPL/Caltech)
on 29 Oct 2010; 17:25 UT
Credential Certification: Michael D. Hicks (Michael.Hicks@jpl.nasa.gov)
Subjects: Optical, Asteroid, Planet (minor), Solar System Object
The near-Earth asteroid 2010 TD54 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey
on Oct 09.33 2010 (MPEC 2010-T65) at a distance of 0.031 AU from the Earth.
Astrometric observations over the subsequent two days confirmed that the
extremely small (D~5m) object would pass within 0.00035 AU of the Earth
on Oct 12.55 2010.
We obtained 2.9 hours of Bessel BVRI photometry of 2010 TD54 at the JPL
Table Mountain 0.6-m telescope (TMO) near Wrightwood, California on Oct
12 2010. Table 1 lists the observational circumstances.
Figure 1
shows our observed photometry, with a monotonic increase in brightness
caused by the rapidly decreasing geocentric distance. Our data can not be
used to constrain solar phase behavior.
The object's averaged colors (B-R=1.284+/-0.045 mag; V-R=0.461+/-0.030
mag; R-I=0.344+/-0.022 mag) are compatible with an S-type spectral
classification (Bus Taxonomy)/S-type (Tholen Taxonomy), an association
obtained through a comparison of our colors with the 1341 asteroid spectra
in the SMASS II database (Bus & Binzel 2002)
[Figure 2
and Table 2].
Assuming a a solar phase parameter g=0.15, our photometry yields an
absolute magnitude H_V = 28.751 +/- 0.030 mag, implying an effective
diameter of between 3 m and 6 m for a plausible range of albedo.
After converting our photometry from magnitude to flux units, we performed
a rotational period search using standard Fourier techniques.
Figure 3
plots chi-squared Fourier model misfit as a function of assumed rotation
period. Assuming a double-peaked lightcurve, we found a best-fit
synodic period P_syn = 42.00+/-0.03 sec, as shown in
Figure 4.
We stress that this rotation period is preliminary but if verified this
would make 2010 TD54 one of, if not the fastest, rotating natural body
known in the solar system, comparable to to 42.67+/-0.04 sec period for
2008 HJ as measured by R. Miles (CBET 1382).
Copyright 2010 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.
Table 1: Observational Circumstances.
UT Time r (AU) delta phase V
[AU] [AU] [deg] [mag]
Start: 2010 10 12.14 1.0010 0.0030 12.4 16.9
Stop: 2010 10 12.27 0.9999 0.0018 15.8 15.9
Table 2: Best-fit SMASS II spectral analogs.
TAXONOMIC CLASS
MISFIT OBJECT NAME (THOLEN) (BUS)
0.507 1948 Kampala S
0.573 1640 Nemo S
0.630 40 Harmonia S S
0.688 519 Sylvania S S
0.757 1635 Bohrmann S
