Here you can read the abstract of my last scientific publication, based on the asteroids (1162) Larissa and (1911) Schubart, two of the most notable Hildas, group located in the surroundings of the main belt asteroids, (between 3.9 and 4.1 au approximately).
This paper published in April 2021 in the prestigious journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).
* The image shows (1162) Larissa FITS file, taken by the SOFIA's FORCAST instrument, and visualized thanks to Astropy (Python library)
ABSTRACT
The Hilda asteroids are among the least studied populations in the asteroid belt, despite their potential importance as markers of Jupiter's migration in the early Solar system. We present new mid-infrared observations of two notable Hildas, (1162) Larissa, and (1911) Schubart, obtained using the Faint Object infraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST), and use these to characterize their thermal inertia and physical properties. For (1162) Larissa, we obtain an effective diameter of 46.5 km, an albedo of 0.12 ± 0.02, and a thermal inertia of 15 Jm-2 s1/2 K-1. In addition, our Larissa thermal measurements are well matched with an ellipsoidal shape with an axial ratio a/b = 1.2 for the most-likely spin properties. Our modelling of (1911) Schubart is not as refined, but the thermal data point towards a high-obliquity spin-pole, with a best fit a/b = 1.3 ellipsoidal shape. This spin-shape solution is yielding a diameter of 72 km, an albedo of 0.039± 0.02, and a thermal inertia below 30 Jm-2 s1/2 K-1 (or 10 Jm-2 s1/2 K-1). As with (1162) Larissa, our results suggest that (1911) Schubart is aspherical, and likely elongated in shape. Detailed dynamical simulations of the two Hildas reveal that both exhibit strong dynamical stability, behaviour that suggests that they are primordial, rather than captured objects. The differences in their albedos, along with their divergent taxonomical classification, suggests that despite their common origin, the two have experienced markedly different histories.
To read the paper please click here
