Results of Complex Observations of Asteroid (596) Scheila at the Sanglokh International Astronomical Observatory

TL;DR

This study presents astrometric and photometric observations of asteroid (596) Scheila, revealing its physical properties, rotation period, and the impact of a 2010 collision, with findings consistent with pre-collision characteristics.

Contribution

First detailed observational analysis of asteroid (596) Scheila post-collision, providing updated physical parameters and confirming surface stability after impact.

Findings

Asteroid diameter approximately 119 km.

Rotation period estimated at 16.1 hours.

No significant changes in brightness or surface properties since 2010 collision.

Abstract

Results of astrometric and BVRI photometric observations of the active asteroid (596) Scheila are presented. The observations were carried out at the Zeiss 1000 telescope of the Sanglokh International Astro-nomical Observatory of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan on June 16 and 17 and from July 30 to August 1, 2017. The coordinates of the object and its orbit were determined; and the apparent brightness in four filters, the absolute brightness in the V and R filters, and the color indices were obtained. The light curves suggest that no substantial changes in the brightness of asteroid occurred during the observations. The absolute brightness of the asteroid in the V and R filters was 9.1 mag and 8.8 mag, respectively. The mean value of the asteroid diameter was 119 km. The mean values of the color indices B-V=0.72 mag, V-R=0.29 mag, and R-I=0.31 mag agree well with the values for asteroids of the P and D types and its averages. The rotation period of the asteroid estimated from photometric observations was 16.1 h. The analysis of the data has shown that the asteroid continues to exhibit the same values of absolute brightness and other characteristics as those before the collision with a small body in December 2010, though the latter resulted in the outburst event and cometary activity of the asteroid. Most likely, the collision of asteroid (596) Scheila with a small body did not lead to catastrophic changes in the surface of the asteroid or to its compete breakup.