Masses, bulk densities, and macroporosities of asteroids (15) Eunomia, (29) Amphitrite, (52) Europa, and (445) Edna based on Gaia astrometry
Lauri Siltala, Mikael Granvik

TL;DR
This study utilizes Gaia DR2 astrometry combined with Earth-based data to estimate asteroid masses, densities, and porosities, demonstrating improved accuracy in mass determination for large asteroids through advanced modeling techniques.
Contribution
The paper introduces a Markov chain Monte Carlo method for asteroid mass estimation using Gaia astrometry and validates its effectiveness on multiple asteroids.
Findings
Gaia astrometry significantly improves mass estimates when combined with Earth data.
Mass estimation for (445) Edna requires multiple data sources for accuracy.
Orbit solutions are refined, notably for asteroid (367) Amicitia.
Abstract
Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) includes milliarcsecond-accuracy astrometry for 14,099 asteroids. We explore the practical impact of this data for the purpose of asteroid mass and orbit estimation by estimating the masses individually for four large asteroids. We use various combinations of Gaia astrometry and/or Earth-based astrometry so as to determine the impact of Gaia on the estimated masses. By utilizing published information about estimated volumes and meteorite analogs, we also derive estimates for bulk densities and macroporosities. We apply a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm for asteroid mass and orbit estimation by modeling asteroid-asteroid close encounters to four separate large asteroids in an attempt to estimate their masses based on multiple simultaneously studied close encounters with multiple test asteroids. In order to validate our algorithm and data treatment,…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstro and Planetary Science · Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies · Planetary Science and Exploration
