• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.64.1-64.1
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• 2019

Thermal fracture and cracking near the perihelion are found to be a possible mechanism to produce the dust trail of the near-Earth asteroid, (3200) Phaethon (Jewitt and Li, 2013, ApJ 771, L36). It is, however, not well understood how the debris particles were escalated from the regolith against the asteroid's gravity. Thus, the scenario that these debris particles are responsible for the detected activities (Li and Jewitt, 2013, ApJ, 145, 154), is not complete yet. Here, we hypothesize that the thermal radiation pressure around the perihelion passage would exert substantial force outwards from the regolith on dust grains, and they can be lifted up and contributes the dust tail formation with further help of solar radiation pressure. Our modeling indicates that particles with sizes of roughly ~1-10 micron can be ejected from Phaethon by the mechanism, while a detailed model of gravitational field is required for accurate estimation of the particle size range. Our idea is not necessarily limited to Phaethon case, but is applicable to any atmosphereless bodies.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.71-82
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• 2019

We derive the geometric albedo of a near-Earth asteroid, (4179) Toutatis, to investigate its surface physical conditions. The asteroid has been studied rigorously not only via ground-based photometric, spectrometric, polarimetric, and radar observations but also via in situ observation by the Chinese Chang'e-2 space probe; however, its geometric albedo is not well understood. We conducted V-band photometric observations when the asteroid was at opposition in April 2018 using the three telescopes in the southern hemisphere that compose the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet). The observed time-variable cross section was corrected using the radar shape model. We find that Toutatis has a geometric albedo $p_V=0.185^{+0.045}_{-0.039}$, which is typical of S-type asteroids. We compare the geometric albedo with archival polarimetric data and further find that the polarimetric slope-albedo law provides a reliable estimate for the albedo of this S-type asteroid. The thermal infrared observation also produced similar results if the size of the asteroid is updated to match the results from Chang'e-2. We conjecture that the surface of Toutatis is covered with grains smaller than that of the near-Sun asteroids including (1566) Icarus and (3200) Phaethon.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.101.2-101.2
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• 2012

An asteroid family is a population of asteroids in the proper orbital element space (a, e, i), considered to have been produced by a disruption of a large parent body presumably through a catastrophic collision. Asteroid families offer unique opportunities to reconstruct and characterize the break-up history of airless bodies in the main-belt. The Maria family is a typical old population (~3${\pm}$1 Gyr) of asteroids that have undergone significant collisional and dynamical evolution in the history of the inner Solar System; it is also believed to be one of the candidate source regions for giant S-type near-earth asteroids (NEAs). However, to date, physical characteristics of this family members such as rotational periods have been known only for 61 of the larger asteroids among 3,230 objects, which accounts for less than 2 percent of the family. In this presentation, we provide some preliminary results of our recent study: out of more than dozen of the family members, lightcurves for eight objects have been obtained for the first time. We plan to increase the number of target objects, and investigate evidences for the Yarkovsky/YORP effect on Maria family based on our observations.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.73.2-73.2
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• 2018

The Hayabusa remote-sensing images of near-Earth asteroid (25143) Itokawa exhibited large diversity in spectral properties. The evidence suggests a various degrees of space weathering on the surface. It is known that the space weathering changes the spectra of S-type asteroids redder and reduces the depths of absorption around $1{\mu}m$. It is therefore possible to determine the surface ages through the investigation of the degree of space weathering. It is, however, reported that the scattered light components severely degrade the Asteroid Multiband Imaging Camera (AMICA) images, especially at the wavelengths > $0.86{\mu}m$. Our team came up with a technique for subtracting the scattered light components (Ishiguro 2014). Here, we upgraded the techniqu e by applying simplex algorism to correct the artifacts for all AMICA bands. This new technique enables to apply for the longest channel (i.e., zs-band at $1.01{\mu}m$) images, which was not studied so far. With the AMICA all bands data, we estimated the surface ages at the different location to be 0.6-2 Myr. Based on this data together with the geological information (e.g. gravitational potentials and local). we will discuss about the evolution of surface materials on the asteroid.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.61.3-62
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• 2016

An asteroid family is a group of asteroidal objects in the proper orbital element space (a, e, and i), considered to have been produced by a disruption of a large parent body through a catastrophic collision. Family members usually have similar surface properties such as spectral taxonomy types, colors, and visible geometric albedo with a same dynamical age. Therefore an asteroid family could be called as a natural Solar System laboratory and is also regarded as a powerful tool to investigate space weathering and non-gravitational phenomena such as the Yarkovsky/YORP effects. We carry out time series photometric observations for a number of asteroid families to obtain their physical properties, including sizes, shapes, rotational periods, spin axes, colors, and H-G parameters based on nearly round-the-clock observations, using several 0.5-2 meter class telescopes in the Northern hemisphere, including BOAO 1.8 m, LOAO 1.0 m, SOAO 0.6 m facilities in KASI, McDonald Observatory 2.1 m instrument, NARIT 2.4 m and TUG 1.0 m telescopes. This study is expected to find, for the first time, some important clues on the collisional history in our Solar System and the mechanisms where the family members are being transported from the resonance regions in the Main-belt to the near Earth space.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.45.2-46
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• 2021

The Hayabusa 2 mission target asteroid (162173) Ryugu is a near-Earth, carbonaceous (C-type) asteroid. Before the arrival, this asteroid is expected to be covered with mm- to cm- sized grains through the thermal infrared observations [1]. These grains are widely understood to be formed by past impacts with other celestial bodies and fractures induced by thermal fatigue [2]. However, the close-up images by the MASCOT lander showed lumpy boulders but no abundant fine grains [3]. Morota et al. suggested that there would be submillimeter particles on the top of these boulders but not resolved by Hayabusa 2's onboard instruments [4]. Hence, we conducted polarimetry of Ryugu to investigate microscopic grain sizes on its surface. Polarimetry is a powerful tool to estimate physical properties such as albedo and grain size. Especially, it is known that the maximum polarization degree (Pmax) and the geometric albedo (pV) show an empirical relationship depending on surface grain sizes [5]. We observed Ryugu from UT 2020 November 30 to December 10 at large phase angles (ranging from 78.5 to 89.7 degrees) to derive Pmax. We modified TRIPOL (Triple Range Imager and POLarimeter, [6]) to attach to the 1.8-m telescope at the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (BOAO). With this instrument, we observed the asteroid and determined linear polarization degrees at the Rc-band filter. We obtained sufficient data sets from 7 nights at this observatory to determine the Pmax value, and collaborated with other observatories in Japan (i.e., Hokkaido University, Higashi-Hiroshima, and Nishi-Harima) to acquire linear polarization degrees of the asteroid from total 24 nights observations with large phase angle coverage (From 28 to 104 degrees). The observational results have been published in Kuroda et al. (2021) [7]. We thus found the dominance of submillimeter particles on the surface of Ryugu from the comparison with other meteorite samples from the campaign observation. In this presentation, we report our activity to modify the TRIPOL for the 1.8-m telescope and the polarimetric performance. We also examine the rotational variability of the polarization degree using the TRIPOL data.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.45.2-46
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• 2020

Various processes, such as space weathering and granular convection, are occurring on asteroids' surfaces. Estimation of the surface exposure timescale is essential for understanding these processes. The Hayabusa mission target asteroid, (25143) Itokawa (Sq-type) is the only asteroid whose age is estimated from remote sensing observations as well as sample analyses in laboratories. There is, however, an unignorable discrepancy between the timescale derived from these different techniques. The ages estimated based on the solar flare track density and the weathered rim thickness of regolith samples range between 102 and 104 years [1][2]. On the contrary, the ages estimated from the crater size distributions and the spectra cover from 106 to 107 years [3][4]. It is important to notice that there is a common drawback of both age estimation methods. Since the evidence of regolith migration is found on the surface of Itokawa [5], the surficial particles would be rejuvenated by granular convection. At the same time, it is expected that the erasure of craters by regolith migration would affect the crater size distribution. We propose a new technique to estimate surface exposure age, focusing on the bright mottles on the large boulders. Our technique is less prone to the granular convection. These mottles are expected to be formed by impacts of mm to cm-sized interplanetary particles. Together with the well-known flux model of interplanetary dust particles (e.g., Grün, 1985 [6]), we have investigated the timescale to form such mottles before they become dark materials again by the space weathering. In this work, we used three AMICA (Asteroid Multi-band Imaging Camera) v-band images. These images were taken on 2005 November 12 during the close approach to the asteroid. As a result, we found the surface exposure timescales of these boulders are an order of 106 years. In this meeting, we will introduce our data analysis technique and evaluate the consistency among previous research for a better understanding of the evolution of this near-Earth asteroid.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.58.1-59
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• 2021

Exploration of asteroids' internal structure is essential for understanding their evolutional history. It also provides a fundamental information about the history of coalescence and collision of the solar system. Among several models of the internal structures, the rubble-pile model, confirmed by the near-Earth asteroid (25143) Itokawa by Hayabusa mission [1], is now widely regarded as the most common to asteroids with size ranging from 200 m to 10 km [2]. On the contrary, monolithic and core-mantle structures are also possible for small asteroids [3]. It is, however, still challenging to look through the interior of a target object using remote-sensing devices. In this presentation, we introduce our ongoing research conducted at Seoul National and propose an idea to infer the internal structure of Apophis using available instruments. Itokawa's research provides an important benchmark for Apophis exploration because both asteroids have similar size and composition [4][5]. We have conducted research on Itokawa's evolution in terms of collision and space weathering. Space weathering is the surface alteration process caused by solar wind implantation and micrometeorite bombardment [6]. Meanwhile, resurfacing via a collision acts as a counter-process of space weathering by exposing fresh materials under the matured layer and lower the overall degree of space weathering. Therefore, the balance of these two processes determine the space weathering degrees of the asteroid. We focus on the impact evidence on the boulder surface and found that space weathering progresses in only 100-10,000 years and modifies the surface optical properties (Jin & Ishiguro, KAS 2020 Fall Meeting). It is important to note that the timescale is significantly shorter than the Itokawa's age, suggesting that the asteroid can be totally processed by space weathering. Accordingly, our result triggers a further discussion about why Itokawa indicates a moderately fresh spectrum (Sq-type denotes less matured than S-type). For example, Itokawa's smooth terrains show a weaker degree of space weathering than other S-type asteroids [7]. We conjecture that the global seismic shaking caused by collisions with >1 mm-sized interplanetary dust particles induces granular convection, which hinders the progression of space weathering [8]. Note that the efficiency of seismic wave propagation is strongly dependent on the internal structure of the asteroid. Finally, we consider possible approaches to investigate Apophis's internal structure. The first idea is studying the space weathering age, as conducted for Itokawa. If Apophis indicates a younger age, the internal structure would have more voids [9]. In addition, the 2029 close encounter with Earth provides a rare natural opportunity to witness the contrast between before and after the event. If the asteroid exhibits a slight change in shape and space weathering degree, one can determine the physical structure of the internal materials (e.g., rubble-pile monolithic, thick or thin regolith layer, the cohesion of the materials). We will also consider a possible science using a seismometer.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.44.2-45
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• 2021

As implied by the zodiacal light and spacecraft impact measurements, the space between large bodies in our Solar System is filled with interplanetary dust particles (IDPs). IDPs give us deeper insight into the composition and evolution of the Solar System, as well as being a crucial reference for extrasolar research. IDPs can be interpreted as bearers of carbon and organic materials, and thus, their interaction with Earth can be considered as important factors for the birth of terrestrial life. One of the key routes of IDPs entering Earth is via meteoroid streams (Love and Brownlee 1993). The Geminid meteoroid stream is a notable example. Together with its source asteroid (3200) Phaethon, the Phaethon-Geminid stream complex (PGC) (Whipple 1983; Gustafson 1989) can potentially provide information on the properties and evolution of IDPs in near-Earth space. DESTINY+* is a JAXA/ISAS spacecraft planned to launch in 2024 to explore the physical and chemical features of near-Earth IDPs and uncover the dust ejection mechanism of active near-Earth asteroids, especially Phaethon (Arai et al. 2018). Previous studies on the dust ejection mechanism of Phaethon have various degrees of success in explaining the ejection of submillimeter particles and try to recreate the dust replenishment rate of the Geminid stream. However, none of them are satisfactory for explaining the observed Geminid stream, especially for larger particles of a millimeter and centimeter scales. Inspired by the discovery of rotational mass shedding in the Main Belt region (Jewitt et al., 2014), we investigate a dust ejection scenario by rotational instability on Phaethon. Using the N-body integrator MERCURY6 (Chambers 1999; modified by Jeong 2014), we performed a long-term integration of dust particles of various sizes ejected at ~1 m/s. Through this process, we discuss the implications Phaethon's rotation may have on its ejection, the formation and evolution of IDP by this mechanism, and contribute to the DESTINY+ mission.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.44.4-45
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• 2018

(4179) Toutatis (Toutatis hereafter) is one of the Near-Earth Asteroids which has been studied most rigorously not only via ground-based photometric, spectroscopic, polarimetric, and radar observations, but also via the in-situ observation by the Chinese Chang'e-2 spacecraft. However, one of the most fundamental physical properties, the geometric albedo, is less determined. In order to derive the reliable geometric albedo and further study the physical condition on the surface, we made photometric observations of Toutatis near the opposition (i.e., the opposite direction from the Sun). We thus observed it for four days on 2018 April 7-13 using three 1.6-m telescopes, which consist of the Korean Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet). Since the asteroid has a long rotational period (5.38 and 7.40 days from Chang'e-2, Zhao et al., 2015), the continuous observations with KMTNet matches the purpose of our photometric study of the asteroid. The observed data cover the phase angle (Sun-asteroid-observer's angle) of 0.65-2.79 degree. As a result, we found that the observed data exhibited the magnitude changes with an amplitude of ~0.8 mag. We calculated the time-variable geometrical cross-section using the radar shape model (Hudson & Ostro 1995), and corrected the effect from the observed data to derive the geometric albedo. In this presentation, we will present our photometric results. In addition, we will discuss about the regolith particles size together with the polarimetric properties based on the laboratory measurements of albedo-polarization maximum.