Diameters and albedos of three sub-kilometer Near Earth Objects derived from Spitzer observations

TL;DR

This study uses Spitzer observations to measure diameters and albedos of three small Near Earth Objects, providing insights into their physical properties and demonstrating the effectiveness of infrared data for NEO characterization.

Contribution

First infrared measurements of three sub-kilometer NEOs' diameters and albedos, confirming the utility of Spitzer IRAC data for NEO physical characterization.

Findings

Diameters are approximately 400 m, 180 m, and 160 m.

Albedos are around 0.30, typical of S-class asteroids.

Infrared data alone can reliably determine NEO physical parameters.

Abstract

Near Earth Objects (NEOs) are fragments of remnant primitive bodies that date from the era of Solar System formation. At present, the physical properties and origins of NEOs are poorly understood. We have measured thermal emission from three NEOs -- (6037) 1988 EG, 1993 GD, and 2005 GL -- with Spitzer's IRAC instrument at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 microns (the last object was detected only at 5.8 and 8.0 microns). The diameters of these three objects are 400 m, 180 m, and 160 m, respectively, with uncertainties of around 20% (including both observational and systematic errors). For all three the geometric albedos are around 0.30, in agreement with previous results that most NEOs are S-class asteroids. For the two objects detected at 3.6 and 4.5 microns, diameters and albedos based only on those data agree with the values based on modeling the data in all four bands. This agreement, and the high sensitivity of IRAC, show the promise of the Spitzer Warm Mission for determining the physical parameters for a large number of NEOs.