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General
This project studies the physical and compositional properties of the so-called minor bodies of the Solar System, that includes asteroids, icy objects, and comets. Of special interest are the trans-neptunian objects (TNOs), including those considered the most distant objects detected so far (Extreme-TNOs or ETNOs); the comets and the comet-asteroid transitional objects (Centaurs and main belt comets or MBCs); the primitive asteroids. The last two groups contain the most primordial and pristine material of the Solar System and so they provide the clues to understand the origin and the subsequent evolution of our system. Among asteroid population, the near-Earth asteroids or NEAs, as well as the potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) are of particular interest: due to their proximity to the Earth, they are the most accesible to spacecraft and so are ideal for in-situ or even sample-return space missions. In addition they are considered as future potential resources of materials (asteroid mining), and they are also impact hazards for the Earth. Regarding primitive asteroids, it is remarkable the spectroscopic survey (visible and near-infrared) led by the PI of this project (PRIMitive Asteroids Spectroscopic Survey - PRIMASS). This survey received financial support from NASA (17-PDART17_2-0097, PI: N. Pinilla-Alonso, 137.000€ - 2 years) in order to upload and archive at the Small Bodies Node of the NASA Planetary Data System the more than 800 spectra obtained.
The compositional surface properties, as well as the physical and thermal properties of these objects are inferred through imaging, photometry, and spectroscopy in a wide range of wavelengths (from 0.35 up to 24 microns). Data are interpreted using scattering and thermo-physical models. This project works also in the study of the physical properties of the cometary nuclei, as well as properties of dust and coma in the tails of the MBCs and the mechanisms that generate them.
This group maintains several international collaborations with other groups, and some of their members are also members of (1) the Science Team of the NASA OSIRIS-REx mission, in particular the Image Processing Working Group, were they work with the images obtained with the OCAMS suite of cameras; (2) the coordination of an international group to study NEAs (EURONEAR); (3) the central core of the proponents of ESA M5 missions CASTALIA, CASTAway, and Hera; (4) the Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science - CLASS (NASA); (5) the Solar System group of the Euclid consortium; (6) the surveys J-PLUS and J-PASS for the exploitation of observations of Solar System objects; (7) the Solar System working group of Gaia and JWST.
Members
Scientific activity
Related publications
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High-resolution observations of bright boulders on asteroid Ryugu: 1. Size frequency distribution and morphologyThe near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu displays a Cb-type average spectrum and a very low average normal albedo of 0.04. Although the majority of boulders on Ryugu have reflectance spectra and albedo similar to the Ryugu average, a small fraction of boulders exhibit anomalously high albedo and distinctively different spectra. A previous studySugimoto, Chiho et al.
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112021 -
Geologic History and Crater Morphology of Asteroid (162173) RyuguCrater morphology and surface age of asteroid (162173) Ryugu are characterized using the high-resolution images obtained by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Our observations reveal that the abundant boulders on and under the surface of the rubble-pile asteroid affect crater morphology. Most of the craters on Ryugu exhibit well-defined circular depressionsCho, Y. et al.
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82021 -
Dust environment of active asteroids P/2019 A4 (PANSTARRS) and P/2021 A5 (PANSTARRS)We report on the characterization of the dust activity and dynamical evolution of two faint active asteroids, P/2019 A4, and P/2021 A5, observed with the 10.4 m GTC using both imaging and spectroscopy. Asteroid P/2019 A4 activity is found to be linked to an impulsive event occurring some ±10 d around perihelion, probably due to a collision or aMoreno, Fernando et al.
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92021 -
Spectral diversity of the inner belt primitive asteroid background populationWe present new near-infrared spectra of 55 objects observed using the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility and the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, along with visible spectra of 21 objects obtained from the SMASS and S 3OS 2 surveys, to explore the differences in spectral slope and curvature between the background and the families and to show that theArredondo, Anicia et al.
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112021 -
Regional Photometric Modeling of Asteroid (101955) BennuWe present a regional photometric analysis of asteroid (101955) Bennu, using image data from the MapCam color imager of the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite (OCAMS). This analysis follows the previously reported global photometric analysis of Bennu, which found that Bennu's roughness was difficult to photometrically model owing to unresolved surfaceGolish, D. R. et al.
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82021 -
Natural Night Sky Brightness during Solar MinimumIn 2018, Solar Cycle 24 entered into a solar minimum phase. During this period, 11 million zenithal night sky brightness (NSB) data were collected at different dark sites around the planet, including astronomical observatories and natural protected areas, with identical broadband Telescope Encoder and Sky Sensor photometers (based on the UnihedronAlarcon, Miguel R. et al.
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72021 -
Development of image texture analysis technique for boulder distribution measurements: Applications to asteroids Ryugu and ItokawaRecent asteroid missions have revealed that many sub-kilometer asteroids are rubble piles. Large parts of their surfaces are covered with boulders larger than tens of centimeters. An evaluation of the abundance and size distribution of boulders provides clues to understand surface processes on boulder-covered asteroids. Here we report a new methodTanabe, Naoya et al.
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92021 -
Activity of the Jupiter co-orbital comet P/2019 LD<SUB>2</SUB> (ATLAS) observed with OSIRIS at the 10.4 m GTCContext. The existence of comets with heliocentric orbital periods close to that of Jupiter (i.e., co-orbitals) has been known for some time. Comet 295P/LINEAR (2002 AR 2) is a well-known quasi-satellite of Jupiter. However, their orbits are not long-term stable, and they may eventually experience flybys with Jupiter at very close range, closeLicandro, J. et al.
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62021 -
Resurfacing processes on asteroid (162173) Ryugu caused by an artificial impact of Hayabusa2's Small Carry-on ImpactorThe resurfacing process on Ryugu accompanying the artificial impact crater formation by Hayabusa2's Small Carry-on Impactor (SCI) was studied by comparing pre- and post-impact images of this region captured by an optical navigation camera. Three different aspects of the resurfacing process were examined: the crater rim profiles, the motion ofHonda, Rie et al.
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92021 -
The active centaur 2020 MK<SUB>4</SUB>Context. Centaurs go around the Sun between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. Only a fraction of the known centaurs have been found to display comet-like features. Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 is the most remarkable active centaur. It orbits the Sun just beyond Jupiter in a nearly circular path. Only a handful of known objects follow similarde la Fuente Marcos, C. et al.
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52021 -
The EURONEAR Lightcurve Survey of Near Earth Asteroids—Teide Observatory, Tenerife, 2015One meter class telescopes could bring important contributions in the acquisition of lightcurves of near earth asteroids (NEAs), based on which rotations and other physical properties could be derived or constrained. Part of a collaboration between IAC, ESA and the EURONEAR during the semester 2015A, the IAC80 and OGS telescopes at TeideVaduvescu, O. et al.
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102021 -
Alignment determination of the Hayabusa2 laser altimeter (LIDAR)In this study, we determined the alignment of the laser altimeter aboard Hayabusa2 with respect to the spacecraft using in-flight data. Since the laser altimeter data were used to estimate the trajectory of the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, the pointing direction of the altimeter needed to be accurately determined. The boresight direction of the receivingNoda, Hirotomo et al.
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122021 -
Bennu's global surface and two candidate sample sites characterized by spectral clustering of OSIRIS-REx multispectral imagesThe OSIRIS-REx spacecraft encountered the asteroid (101955) Bennu on December 3, 2018, and has since acquired extensive data from the payload of scientific instruments on board. In 2019, the OSIRIS-REx team selected primary and backup sample collection sites, called Nightingale and Osprey, respectively. On October 20, 2020, OSIRIS-REx successfullyRizos, J. L. et al.
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82021 -
Numerical modeling of lander interaction with a low-gravity asteroid regolith surface. II. Interpreting the successful landing of Hayabusa2 MASCOTContext. The JAXA asteroid sample return mission Hayabusa2 reached its target (162173) Ryugu in June 2018 and released the European (CNES-DLR) lander MASCOT in October 2018. MASCOT successfully landed on the surface, and the Hayabusa2 Optical Navigation Camera system has been able to image parts of the MASCOT trajectory. Aims: This work builds onThuillet, Florian et al.
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42021 -
Improved method of hydrous mineral detection by latitudinal distribution of 0.7-μm surface reflectance absorption on the asteroid RyuguGlobal multiband images of the C-type asteroid (162173) Ryugu were obtained by the optical navigation camera telescope (ONC-T) onboard Hayabusa2. The 0.7-μm absorption depth of the surface reflectance spectrum, which indicates the presence of hydrous minerals, was not clearly seen on Ryugu using flat field correction data obtained in the preflightKameda, Shingo et al.
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52021 -
Post-arrival calibration of Hayabusa2's optical navigation cameras (ONCs): Severe effects from touchdown eventsAccurate measurements of the surface brightness and its spectrophotometric properties are essential for obtaining reliable observations of the physical and material properties of planetary bodies. To measure the surface brightness of Ryugu accurately, we calibrated the optical navigation cameras (ONCs) of Hayabusa2 using both standard stars andKouyama, Toru et al.
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52021 -
Photometry of asteroid (101955) Bennu with OVIRS on OSIRIS-RExNASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at its sampling target, asteroid (101955) Bennu, in December 2018 and started a series of global observation campaigns. Here we investigate the global photometric properties of Bennu as observed by the OSIRIS-REx Visible and InfraRed Spectrometer (OVIRS) over the time period December 9, 2018, to September 26Zou, Xiao-Duan et al.
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42021 -
Disk-resolved photometric modeling and properties of asteroid (101955) BennuOSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) is a NASA mission to return a sample of asteroid (101955) Bennu. Photometric modeling of Bennu's surface is a key element of both sample site characterization and our broader scientific understanding of the asteroid. Bennu's heterogeneous surfaceGolish, D. R. et al.
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32021 -
Near-infrared spectroscopy of the Sulamitis asteroid family: Surprising similarities in the inner belt primitive asteroid populationWe present NIR spectra of 19 asteroids in the Sulamitis family as part of our survey of primitive inner belt asteroid families. The spectra were obtained with NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility and the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo between January 2017 and February 2020. We find spectral homogeneity in our sample despite the diversity within theArredondo, Anicia et al.
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42021 -
Collisional history of Ryugu's parent body from bright surface bouldersThe asteroid (162173) Ryugu and other rubble-pile asteroids are likely re-accumulated fragments of much larger parent bodies that were disrupted by impacts. However, the collisional and orbital pathways from the original parent bodies to subkilometre rubble-pile asteroids are not yet well understood 1-3. Here we use Hayabusa2 observations to showTatsumi, E. et al.
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