Large Halloween asteroid at lunar distance

Abstract

The near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 2015 TB145 had a very close encounter with Earth at 1.3 lunar distances on October 31, 2015. We obtained 3-band mid-infrared observations with the ESO VLT-VISIR instrument and visual lightcurves during the close-encounter phase. The NEA has a (most likely) rotation period of 2.939 +/- 0.005 hours and the visual lightcurve shows a peak-to-peak amplitude of approximately 0.12+/-0.02 mag. We estimate a V-R colour of 0.56+/-0.05 mag from MPC database entries. Applying different phase relations to the available R-/V-band observations produced H_R = 18.6 mag (standard H-G calculations) or H_R = 19.2 mag & H_V = 19.8 mag (via the H-G12 procedure), with large uncertainties of approximately 1 mag. We performed a detailed thermophysical model analysis by using spherical and ellipsoidal shape models. The thermal properties are best explained by an equator-on (+/- ~30 deg) viewing geometry during our measurements with a thermal inertia in the range 250-700 Jm-2s-0.5K-1 (retrograde rotation) or above 500 Jm-2s-0.5K-1 (prograde rotation). We find that the NEA has a minimum size of 625 m, a maximum size of just below 700 m, and a slightly elongated shape with a/b ~1.1. The best match to all thermal measurements is found for: (i) Thermal inertia of 900 Jm-2s-0.5K-1; D_eff = 644 m, p_V = 5.5% (prograde rotation); regolith grain sizes of ~50-100 mm; (ii) thermal inertia of 400 Jm-2s-0.5K-1; D_eff = 667 m, p_V = 5.1% (retrograde rotation); regolith grain sizes of ~10-20 mm. A near-Earth asteroid model (NEATM) confirms an object size well above 600 m, significantly larger than early estimates based on radar measurements. We give recommendations for improved observing strategies for similar events in the future.