Direct Detections of the Asteroidal YORP Effect

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Telescope time has been awarded to study the asteroidal YORP effect.Proposal Abstract: The YORP effect is a torque experienced by small asteroids that is due to both incident solar radiation pressure and the recoil effect from the anisotropic emission of thermal photons. It can modify their rotation rates and spin-axis orientations, and can explain many observed phenomena in asteroidal science. We will use the INT+WFC to obtain lightcurve coverage of several NEAs which are targets of an ESO Large Programme, the aim of which is to directly detect YORP-induced rotation period changes amongst a large sample of NEAs. The aim of this project is not to determine highly accurate period solutions for the objects, but rather to assist in the measurement of any potential phase offset in the asteroids' rotational lightcurve due to the YORP effect. The lightcurve data obtained at the INT will prove crucial to this programme since some of the targets are now unobservable from ESO.