Bicolour lightcurve of TNO
1996 TO
with the ESO-VLT
*
1
European Southern Observatory(ESO), Casilla 19001, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile e-mail: tsekiguc@eso.org
2
Graduate University for Advanced Studies, National Astronomical Observatory, Osawa 2-21-1, Mitaka, Japan
Corresponding author: T. Sekiguchi, t.sekiguchi@nao.ac.jp
Received:
12
March
2001
Accepted:
15
January
2002
We performed high resolution imaging of 1996 TO66 in V and R band
to verify and monitor the lightcurve change,
to address a colour change over a rotation and
to search for a cometary activity.
No activity was detected at the 29 mag/sq.arcsec level with 5400 s
integration time with the ESO-VLT.
Combining the data in Nov. and Dec. 1999,
we obtained a complete rotation period coverage.
The lightcurve was a single-peaked, with an amplitude of 0.21 mag in R.
The (
) colour displays the inhomogeneity of TNO surface.
TNO's patchy surface may be cause
the intensity change of water absorption feature in near-IR spectra.
These observations can be the starting points for a challenging work of
surface mapping of TNOs.
Key words: comets: general / comets: individual: activity, nucleus / Kuiper Belt / asteroids
© ESO, 2002