Asteroid Photometry with PIRATE: Optimizations and Techniques for Small Aperture Telescopes
Asteroid Photometry with PIRATE: Optimizations and Techniques for Small Aperture Telescopes
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DOI：
10.1088/1538-3873/ac0f8c
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发表时间：
2021-07
影响因子：
3.5
通讯作者：
S. Jackson;U. Kolb;S. Green
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
S. Jackson;U. Kolb;S. Green
小口径望远镜提供了对近地小行星进行高频、有针对性的观测的机会，由于竞争激烈的时间分配要求，这些观测对于较大的设施是不可行的。由于难以实现高精度的光度校准，利用这类设施对小行星的观测往往侧重于自转亮度变化，而不是较长期的与相角有关的变化(相位曲线)。我们已经开发了一种用于0.43米物理创新机器人望远镜探测器运动物体图像的自动小行星光曲线提取和校准管道。这使得构建小行星相位曲线所需的观测频率和质量得以实现。确定了标准数据简化程序中的优化措施，可以利用商业上可买到的/现成的组件建造类似的小口径设施，以改善图像和随后的数据质量。通过10个月观测活动的观测统计数据，以及近地小行星8014(1990年最高值)和19764(2000nf5)的光度学特征，展示了硬件和软件能力。
Small aperture telescopes provide the opportunity to conduct high frequency, targeted observations of near-Earth Asteroids that are not feasible with larger facilities due to highly competitive time allocation requirements. Observations of asteroids with these types of facilities often focus on rotational brightness variations rather than longer-term phase angle-dependent variations (phase curves) due to the difficulty of achieving high precision photometric calibration. We have developed an automated asteroid light curve extraction and calibration pipeline for images of moving objects from the 0.43 m Physics Innovations Robotic Telescope Explorer. This allows for the frequency and quality of observations required to construct asteroid phase curves. Optimizations in standard data reduction procedures are identified that may allow for similar small aperture facilities, constructed from commercially available/off-the-shelf components, to improve the image and subsequent data quality. A demonstration of the hardware and software capabilities is expressed through observation statistics from a 10 months observing campaign, and through the photometric characterization of near-Earth Asteroids 8014 (1990 MF) and 19764 (2000 NF5).