Size and Albedo Constraints for (152830) Dinkinesh Using WISE Data

TL;DR

This study uses WISE infrared data and thermal modeling to estimate the size and surface reflectivity of asteroid (152830) Dinkinesh, providing key physical parameters ahead of the Lucy spacecraft flyby.

Contribution

It presents the first size and albedo measurements of Dinkinesh using WISE data and thermal modeling, aiding future mission planning.

Findings

Diameter of approximately 0.76 km with uncertainties

Albedo consistent with S-type asteroids

Supports the asteroid's classification and physical characterization

Abstract

Probing small main-belt asteroids provides insight into their formation and evolution through multiple dynamical and collisional processes. These asteroids also overlap in size with the potentially hazardous near-earth object population and supply the majority of these objects. The Lucy mission will provide an opportunity for study of a small main-belt asteroid, (152830) Dinkinesh. The spacecraft will perform a flyby of this object on November 1, 2023, in preparation for its mission to the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. We employed aperture photometry on stacked frames of Dinkinesh obtained by the Wide-field-Infrared Survey Explorer and performed thermal modeling on a detection at 12 $\mu$m to compute diameter and albedo values. Through this method, we determined Dinkinesh has an effective spherical diameter of $0.76^{+0.11}_{-0.21}$ km and a visual geometric albedo of $0.27^{+0.25}_{-0.06}$ at the 16th and 84th percentiles. This albedo is consistent with typical stony (S-type) asteroids.