Physical Characterization of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid 2011 WV134
ATel #4251; M. Hicks (JPL/Caltech), S. Teague (VCC), C. Strojia (VVC), D. Dombroski (LACC), T. Davtyan (LACC)
on 11 Jul 2012; 22:59 UT
Credential Certification: Michael D. Hicks (Michael.Hicks@jpl.nasa.gov)
Subjects: Optical, Asteroid, Planet (minor), Solar System Object, Near-Earth Object, Potentially Hazardous Asteroid
The near-Earth asteroid 2011 WV134 was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey on November 30, 2011 (MPEC 2012-A02). With a Minimum Orbit Intersection Distance (MOID) of 0.023 AU and an expected diameter well over 1 km, this object has been identified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) by the IAU Minor Planet Center. We obtained 3 nights of time-resolved photometry at the JPL Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) 0.6-m telescope, as summarized in Table 1.
The rotationally averaged colors (B-R=1.278+/-0.015 mag; V-R=0.452+/-0.008 mag; R-I=0.369+/-0.020 mag) were found most compatible with a S-type spectral classification (Bus taxonomy), an association obtained through a comparison of our colors with the 1341 asteroid spectra in the SMASS II database (Bus & Binzel 2002) [
Figure 1
and Table 2]. Assuming a phase parameter G=0.15, which is typical for an S-type asteroid, we measured an absolute magnitude in the Bessel R-band of H_R=16.66+/-0.01 mag and, with our V-R color, in the Bessel V-band of H_V = 17.11+/-0.02 mag.
Our light-time corrected photometry was converted to reduced magnitude assuming a phase parameter G=0.15. Expressing the photometry as flux, we performed a rotational period search using standard Fourier techniques.
Figure 2
plots chi-squared 2nd and 3rd-order Fourier model misfit as a function of assumed rotation period. Assuming a double-peaked lightcurve, we found two possible synodic periods, P_1 = 8.51+/-0.02 hr and P_2 = 10.07+/-0.05 hr, as shown in
Figure 3.
We welcome any collaborations that may help resolve this ambiguity.
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. The research described in this telegram was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The student participation was supported by the National Science Foundation under REU grant 0852088 to Cal State LA.
Table 1: Observational Circumstances.
UT Time r (AU) delta phase V Filters Observers
[AU] [AU] [deg] [mag]
2012 05 19.42 1.117 0.171 48.3 15.4 BVRI Teague, Strojia
2012 05 20.43 1.126 0.176 46.4 15.4 BVRI Dombroski, Davtyan
2012 05 21.34 1.133 0.182 44.7 15.4 R Hicks
Table 2: Best-fit SMASS II spectral analogs.
TAXONOMIC CLASS
MISFIT OBJECT NAME (THOLEN) (BUS)
0.381 57 Mnemosyne S S
1.109 434 Hungaria E Xe
1.136 994 Otthild S
1.356 519 Sylvania S S
1.482 29 Amphitrite S S
