Journal
ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL
Volume 142, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1088/0004-6256/142/3/90
Keywords
Kuiper Belt: general; Kuiper Belt Objects: individual (2001 QG298); methods: data analysis; techniques: photometric
Categories
Funding
- Michael West Research Fellowship
- Royal Society
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New observations show that the light curve of Kuiper Belt contact binary (139775) 2001 QG(298) has changed substantially since the first observations in 2003. The 2010 light curve has a peak-to-peak photometric range of Delta m(2010) = 0.7 +/- 0.1 mag, significantly lower than in 2003, Delta m(2003) = 1.14 +/- 0.04 mag. This change is most simply interpreted if 2001 QG298 has an obliquity near 90 degrees. The observed decrease in Delta m is caused by a change in viewing geometry, from equator-on in 2003 to nearly 16 degrees (the orbital angular distance covered by the object between the observations) off the equator in 2010. The 2003 and 2010 light curves have the same rotation period and appear in phase when shifted by an integer number of full rotations, also consistent with high obliquity. Based on the new 2010 light curve data, we find that 2001 QG(298) has an obliquity of epsilon = 90 degrees +/- 30 degrees. Current estimates of the intrinsic fraction of contact binaries in the Kuiper Belt are debiased assuming that these objects have randomly oriented spins. If, as 2001 QG(298), Kuiper Belt Object contact binaries tend to have large obliquities, a larger correction is required. As a result, the abundance of contact binaries may be larger than previously believed.
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