Constraining the Limitations of NEATM-like Models: A Case Study with Near-Earth Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2
Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are a key test bed for investigations into planet formation, asteroid dynamics, and planetary defense initiatives. These studies rely on understanding NEA sizes, albedo distributions, and regolith properties. Simple thermal models are a commonly used method for determinin...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/aca89d |
| _version_ | 1827359567642624000 |
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| author | Samuel A. Myers Ellen S. Howell Christopher Magri Ronald J. Vervack Jr. Yanga R. Fernández Sean E. Marshall Patrick A. Taylor |
| author_facet | Samuel A. Myers Ellen S. Howell Christopher Magri Ronald J. Vervack Jr. Yanga R. Fernández Sean E. Marshall Patrick A. Taylor |
| author_sort | Samuel A. Myers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are a key test bed for investigations into planet formation, asteroid dynamics, and planetary defense initiatives. These studies rely on understanding NEA sizes, albedo distributions, and regolith properties. Simple thermal models are a commonly used method for determining these properties; however, they have inherent limitations owing to the simplifying assumptions they make about asteroid shapes and properties. With the recent collapse of the Arecibo Telescope and a decrease of direct size measurements, as well as future facilities such as LSST and NEO Surveyor coming online soon, these models will play an increasingly important role in our knowledge of the NEA population. Therefore, it is key to understand the limits of these models. In this work we constrain the limitations of simple thermal models by comparing model results to more complex thermophysical models, radar data, and other existing analyses. Furthermore, we present a method for placing tighter constraints on inferred NEA properties using simple thermal models. These comparisons and constraints are explored using the NEA (285263) 1998 QE2 as a case study. We analyze QE2 with a simple thermal model and data from both the NASA IRTF SpeX instrument and NEOWISE mission. We determine an albedo between 0.05 and 0.10 and thermal inertia between 0 and 425J m ^−2 s ^−1/2 K ^−1 . We find that overall the simple thermal model is able to well constrain the properties of QE2; however, we find that model uncertainties can be influenced by topography, viewing geometry, and the wavelength range of data used. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:32:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-26a204bc700c47b9bee4bc20938f10e9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T06:32:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-26a204bc700c47b9bee4bc20938f10e92024-02-03T11:11:35ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382023-01-0141510.3847/PSJ/aca89dConstraining the Limitations of NEATM-like Models: A Case Study with Near-Earth Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2Samuel A. Myers0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8500-6601Ellen S. Howell1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7683-5843Christopher Magri2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2200-4622Ronald J. Vervack Jr.3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8227-9564Yanga R. Fernández4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1156-9721Sean E. Marshall5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8144-7570Patrick A. Taylor6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2493-943XLunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona , 1629 E. University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; sammyers@lpl.arizona.eduLunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona , 1629 E. University Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA ; sammyers@lpl.arizona.eduUniversity of Maine Farmington , 173 High Street, Farmington, ME 04938, USAJohns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , 11100 John Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723, USAUniversity of Central Florida , 4111 Libra Drive, Orlando, FL 32816, USAArecibo Observatory/University of Central Florida , HC-03 Box 53995, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612, USANational Radio Astronomy Observatory/Green Bank Observatory , 1180 Boxwood Estate Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USANear-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are a key test bed for investigations into planet formation, asteroid dynamics, and planetary defense initiatives. These studies rely on understanding NEA sizes, albedo distributions, and regolith properties. Simple thermal models are a commonly used method for determining these properties; however, they have inherent limitations owing to the simplifying assumptions they make about asteroid shapes and properties. With the recent collapse of the Arecibo Telescope and a decrease of direct size measurements, as well as future facilities such as LSST and NEO Surveyor coming online soon, these models will play an increasingly important role in our knowledge of the NEA population. Therefore, it is key to understand the limits of these models. In this work we constrain the limitations of simple thermal models by comparing model results to more complex thermophysical models, radar data, and other existing analyses. Furthermore, we present a method for placing tighter constraints on inferred NEA properties using simple thermal models. These comparisons and constraints are explored using the NEA (285263) 1998 QE2 as a case study. We analyze QE2 with a simple thermal model and data from both the NASA IRTF SpeX instrument and NEOWISE mission. We determine an albedo between 0.05 and 0.10 and thermal inertia between 0 and 425J m ^−2 s ^−1/2 K ^−1 . We find that overall the simple thermal model is able to well constrain the properties of QE2; however, we find that model uncertainties can be influenced by topography, viewing geometry, and the wavelength range of data used.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/aca89dAsteroidsAsteroid surfacesNear-Earth objects |
| spellingShingle | Samuel A. Myers Ellen S. Howell Christopher Magri Ronald J. Vervack Jr. Yanga R. Fernández Sean E. Marshall Patrick A. Taylor Constraining the Limitations of NEATM-like Models: A Case Study with Near-Earth Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2 The Planetary Science Journal Asteroids Asteroid surfaces Near-Earth objects |
| title | Constraining the Limitations of NEATM-like Models: A Case Study with Near-Earth Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2 |
| title_full | Constraining the Limitations of NEATM-like Models: A Case Study with Near-Earth Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2 |
| title_fullStr | Constraining the Limitations of NEATM-like Models: A Case Study with Near-Earth Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Constraining the Limitations of NEATM-like Models: A Case Study with Near-Earth Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2 |
| title_short | Constraining the Limitations of NEATM-like Models: A Case Study with Near-Earth Asteroid (285263) 1998 QE2 |
| title_sort | constraining the limitations of neatm like models a case study with near earth asteroid 285263 1998 qe2 |
| topic | Asteroids Asteroid surfaces Near-Earth objects |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/aca89d |
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