Publication Date:
2018-03-01
Description:
We present a unique and significant polarimetric result regarding the near-Earth asteroid (152679) 1998 KU2, which has a very low geometric albedo. From our observations, we find that the linear polarization degrees of 1998 KU2are 44.6 ± 0.5% in theRCband and 44.0 ± 0.6% in theVband at a solar phase angle of 81.0°. These values are the highest of any known airless body in the solar system (i.e., high-polarization comets, asteroids, and planetary satellites) at similar phase angles. This polarimetric observation is not only the first for primitive asteroids at large phase angles, but also for low-albedo (
Print ISSN:
0004-6361
Electronic ISSN:
1432-0746
Topics:
Physics
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