The Sizes and Albedos of Centaurs 2014 YY $_{49}$ and 2013 NL $_{24}$ from Stellar Occultation Measurements by RECON

TL;DR

This study used stellar occultation measurements by RECON to determine the sizes and albedos of two Centaurs, providing precise constraints and no evidence of atmospheres or rings, and enhancing astrometric data for these distant objects.

Contribution

First occultation-based size and albedo measurements for these small, distant Centaurs, improving understanding of their physical properties and astrometry.

Findings

2014 YY$_{49}$ radius: 16 km, albedo: 0.13

2013 NL$_{24}$ radius: 66 km, albedo: 0.045

No atmospheres or rings detected

Abstract

In 2019, the Research and Education Collaborative Occultation Network (RECON) obtained multiple-chord occultation measurements of two centaur objects: 2014 YY$_{49}$ on 2019 January 28 and 2013 NL$_{24}$ on 2019 September 4. RECON is a citizen-science telescope network designed to observe high-uncertainty occultations by outer solar system objects. Adopting circular models for the object profiles, we derive a radius $r=16^{+2}_{-1}$km and a geometric albedo $p_V=0.13^{+0.015}_{-0.024}$ for 2014 YY$_{49}$, and a radius $r=66 ^{+5}_{-5}$km and geometric albedo $p_V = 0.045^{+0.006}_{-0.008}$ for 2013 NL$_{24}$. To the precision of these measurements, no atmosphere or rings are detected for either object. The two objects measured here are among the smallest distant objects measured with the stellar occultation technique. In addition to these geometric constraints, the occultation measurements provide astrometric constraints for these two centaurs at a higher precision than has been feasible by direct imaging. To supplement the occultation results, we also present an analysis of color photometry from the Pan-STARRS surveys to constrain the rotational light curve amplitudes and spectral colors of these two centaurs. We recommend that future work focus on photometry to more deliberately constrain the objects' colors and light curve amplitudes, and on follow-on occultation efforts informed by this astrometry.