Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Rotation rates of Kuiper-belt objects from their light curves

Nature volume 398, pages 129–132 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Very little is known about the physical properties of Kuiper-belt objects1, due to their relatively small size and large distance from the Earth. For example, a Kuiper-belt object with a diameter of 300 km at a typical distance of ∼30 AUwould subtend an angle of only 0.014 arcsec. It is therefore possible to investigate their surface markings, shapes and rotational properties only through variations in the light that they reflect (their light curves). Here we report a survey of optical light curves from Kuiper-belt objects. Variations are observed only for the faintest objects in the survey. We can rule out eclipsing binary objects and variations in the surface markings as the origin of these light curves, suggesting that the observed variations are due to the rotation of irregularly shaped objects. Irregular shapes may be limited to the smallest Kuiper-belt objects because the material strength in their inner regions is sufficient to maintain the shape against the weight of the overlying material. If, however, all of the objects in our survey are of essentially the same size, then the intrinsically faintest ones may be composed of a stronger and darker material than the brighter ones.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Light curves for Kuiper-belt objects (filled symbols) and faint field stars (open symbols).
Figure 2: A plot of the light-curve amplitude versus the absolute magnitude for the 12 objects in our survey with good temporal coverage.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Levison, H. F. & Weissman, P. R. in The Encyclopedia of the Solar System (eds Weisman, P. R., McFadden, L. A. & Johnson, T.) 557–582 (Academic, New York, 1999).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bowell, E. B. et al. in Asteroids II (eds Binzel, R., Gehrels, T. & Matthews, M.) 524–556 (Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, 1989).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Romanishin, W., Tegler, S. C., Levine, J. & Butler, N. BVR photometry of centaur objects 1995 GO, 1993 HA2, and 5145 Pholus. Astron. J. 113, 1893–1898 (1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Tegler, SC. & Romanishin, W. Two distinct populations of Kuiper belt objects. Nature 392, 49–51 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Tegler, S. C. & Romanishin, W. The extraordinary colors of 1994 TB and 1993 SC. Icarus 126, 212–217 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Tegler, S. C. et al. Photometry of the trans-neptunian object 1993 SC. Astron. J. 114, 1230–1233 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hintzen, P., Romanishin, W. & Valdes, F. Galaxies clustering around QSOs with z = 0.9–1.5 and the origin of blue field galaxies. Astrophys. J. 366, 7–15 (1991).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Trentham, N. The luminosity function of dwarf galaxies in four spiral-rich clusters. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 286, 133–157 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Jewitt, D. & Luu, J. Optical-infrared spectral diversity in the Kuiper belt. Astron. J. 115, 1667–1670 (1998).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Buie, M. W. & Bus, S. J. Physical observations of 5145 Pholus. Icarus 100, 288–294 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Davies, J. K., McBride, N., Ellison, S. L., Green, S. F. & Ballantyne, D. R. Visible and infrared photometry of six centaurs. Icarus 134, 213–227 (1998).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Schleicher, D. G. et al. Periodic variations in the activitiy of Comet P/Halley during the 1985/1986 apparition. Astron. J. 100, 896–912 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Binzel, R., Farinella, P., Zappala, V. & Cellino, A. in Asteroids II (eds Binzel, R., Gehrels, T. & Matthews, M.) 416–441 (Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, 1989).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Hobbs, P. V. Ice Physics (Clarendon, Oxford, 1974).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Asphaug, E. et al. Mechanical and geological effects of impact cratering on Ida. Icarus 120, 158–184 (1996).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Stern, S. A. Collisional time scales in the Kuiper disk and their implications. Astron. J. 110, 856–868 (1995).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Farinella, P. & Davis, D. R. Short-period comets: primordial bodies or collisional fragments? Science 273, 938–941 (1996).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Stern, S. A. Signatures of collisions in the Kuiper disk. Astron. Astrophys. 310, 999–1010 (1996).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Jewitt, D. C. & Luu, J. X. ACCD protrait of comet P/Tempel 2. Astron. J. 97, 1766–1790 (1989).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Luu, J. X. & Jewitt, D. C. The nucleus of comet P/Encke. Icarus 86, 69–81 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Brown, W. R. & Luu, J. X. CCD photometry of the Centaur 1995 GO. Icarus 126, 218–224 (1997).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank D. Schleicher for application of his phase dispersion minimization and phasing software to the KBO lightcurves, and E. Asphaug and J. Davies for comments on the manuscript. We also thank the Steward Observatory Telescope Allocation Committee for telescope time. This work was supported by the NASA Origins of Solar Systems and Planetary Astronomy programs.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 73019, Oklahoma, USA

    W. Romanishin

  2. Department of Physics & Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, 86011, Arizona, USA

    S. C. Tegler

Authors
  1. W. Romanishin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. C. Tegler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to W. Romanishin.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Romanishin, W., Tegler, S. Rotation rates of Kuiper-belt objects from their light curves. Nature 398, 129–132 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/18168

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/18168

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing