THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT 2007 OR10
We present photometry and spectra of the large Kuiper belt object 2007 OR10. The data show significant near-infrared absorption features due to water ice. While most objects in the Kuiper belt with water ice absorption this prominent have the optically neutral colors of water ice, 2007 OR10 is among...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Institute of Physics/American Astronomical Society
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/95722 |
| _version_ | 1826194502310690816 |
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| author | Brown, M. E. Burgasser, Adam J. Fraser, W. C. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Brown, M. E. Burgasser, Adam J. Fraser, W. C. |
| author_sort | Brown, M. E. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | We present photometry and spectra of the large Kuiper belt object 2007 OR10. The data show significant near-infrared absorption features due to water ice. While most objects in the Kuiper belt with water ice absorption this prominent have the optically neutral colors of water ice, 2007 OR10 is among the reddest Kuiper belt objects known. One other large Kuiper belt object—Quaoar—has similar red coloring and water ice absorption, and it is hypothesized that the red coloration of this object is due to irradiation of the small amounts of methane able to be retained on Quaoar. 2007 OR10, though warmer than Quaoar, is in a similar volatile retention regime because it is sufficiently larger that its stronger gravity can still retain methane. We propose, therefore, that the red coloration on 2007 OR10 is also caused by the retention of small amounts of methane. Positive detection of methane on 2007 OR10 will require spectra with higher signal to noise. Models for volatile retention on Kuiper belt objects appear to continue to do an excellent job reproducing all of the available observations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:56:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/95722 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:56:46Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Institute of Physics/American Astronomical Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/957222022-09-30T17:53:01Z THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT 2007 OR10 Brown, M. E. Burgasser, Adam J. Fraser, W. C. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics Burgasser, Adam J. We present photometry and spectra of the large Kuiper belt object 2007 OR10. The data show significant near-infrared absorption features due to water ice. While most objects in the Kuiper belt with water ice absorption this prominent have the optically neutral colors of water ice, 2007 OR10 is among the reddest Kuiper belt objects known. One other large Kuiper belt object—Quaoar—has similar red coloring and water ice absorption, and it is hypothesized that the red coloration of this object is due to irradiation of the small amounts of methane able to be retained on Quaoar. 2007 OR10, though warmer than Quaoar, is in a similar volatile retention regime because it is sufficiently larger that its stronger gravity can still retain methane. We propose, therefore, that the red coloration on 2007 OR10 is also caused by the retention of small amounts of methane. Positive detection of methane on 2007 OR10 will require spectra with higher signal to noise. Models for volatile retention on Kuiper belt objects appear to continue to do an excellent job reproducing all of the available observations. 2015-02-27T15:29:34Z 2015-02-27T15:29:34Z 2011-09 2011-05 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2041-8205 2041-8213 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/95722 Brown, M. E., A. J. Burgasser, and W. C. Fraser. “THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT 2007 OR10.” The Astrophysical Journal 738, no. 2 (August 22, 2011): L26. © 2011 American Astronomical Society. en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/738/2/l26 Astrophysical Journal Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf Institute of Physics/American Astronomical Society American Astronomical Society |
| spellingShingle | Brown, M. E. Burgasser, Adam J. Fraser, W. C. THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT 2007 OR10 |
| title | THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT 2007 OR10 |
| title_full | THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT 2007 OR10 |
| title_fullStr | THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT 2007 OR10 |
| title_full_unstemmed | THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT 2007 OR10 |
| title_short | THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF LARGE KUIPER BELT OBJECT 2007 OR10 |
| title_sort | surface composition of large kuiper belt object 2007 or10 |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/95722 |
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