Abstract
Abstract We present the first complete multiband observations of a binary asteroid mutual event. We obtained high-cadence, high-signal-to-noise photometry of the UT 2018 April 9 inferior shadowing event in the Jupiter Trojan binary system Patroclus–Menoetius in four Sloan bands—g′, r′, i′, and z′. We use an eclipse light-curve model to fit for a precise mideclipse time and estimate the minimum separation of the two eclipsing components during the event. Our best-fit mideclipse time of is 19 minutes later than the prediction of Grundy et al. The minimum separation between the center of Menoetius’s shadow and the center of Patroclus is 72.5 ± 0.7 km—slightly larger than the predicted 69.5 km. Using the derived light curves, we find no evidence for significant albedo variations or large-scale topographic features on the Earth-facing hemisphere and limb of Patroclus. We also apply the technique of eclipse mapping to place an upper bound of ∼0.15 mag on wide-scale surface color variability across Patroclus.
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call