Keck and Gemini Characterization of Hayabusa2# Rendezvous Target 1998 KY26

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Abstract Near-Earth object (NEO) 1998 KY26 is a target of the Hayabusa2# spacecraft, which it will rendezvous with in 2031 July. The asteroid has been noted to rotate rapidly and has a large out-of-plane nongravitational acceleration. We present observations consisting of deep-g- and R-band imaging obtained with the Keck I/Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (LRIS) and visible spectroscopy from Gemini North/Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) taken of 1998 KY26 on 2024 June 8–9 when the asteroid was ∼0.037 au from the Earth. The asteroid does not show evidence of a dust coma and has a surface brightness profile similar to nearby background stars in the deep images. The spectrum of 1998 KY26 from the combined LRIS and GMOS observations most closely resembles Xe-type asteroids, possessing a spectral slope of 6.71% ± 0.43% 100 nm−1, and color indices g – r = 0.63 ± 0.03, r – i = 0.15 ± 0.03, i – z = 0.05 ± 0.04, and implies a diameter of ∼10 m. From our deep image stacks, we compute a 3σ upper limit on the dust production of 1998 KY26 of <10−5 kg s−1, <10−2 kg s−1, and <10−1 kg s−1 assuming μm, mm, and cm size dust particles. In addition, we compare the orbit of 1998 KY26 and other known asteroids with large nongravitational parameters to NEO population models and find that the majority, including 1998 KY26, likely originated from the inner Main Belt, while the second most numerous group originates from the outer main belt, followed by a third group possibly originating from the Jupiter Family Comet population. Given its inner Main Belt origin, its Xe-type spectrum, and rapid rotation, we hypothesize that the nongravitational acceleration of 1998 KY26 may be caused by the shedding of large dust grains from its surface due to its rotation rather than H2O vapor outgassing.