Photometry of the Kuiper-Belt object 1999 TD at different phase angles ^*,**

¹ Besançon Observatory, BP 1615, 25010 Besançon Cedex, France
² Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Bâtiment 121, Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
³ Leiden Observatory, University of Leiden, Postbus 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
⁴ Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucia, CSIC, Apt 3004, 18080 Granada, Spain

Corresponding author: P. Rousselot, philippe@obs-besancon.fr

Received: 8 January 2003
Accepted: 28 May 2003

Abstract

We present photometric observations of the Kuiper-Belt object 1999 TD₁₀ at different phase angles and for three different broad band filters (B, V and R). This object was observed with the Danish 1.54-m telescope of ESO in Chile during six different observing nights corresponding to a phase angle of 0.30, 0.37, 0.92, 3.43, 3.48 and 3.66°. Extra observations were obtained in September 2002 with the VLT UT1/FORS1 combination to confirm that 1999 TD₁₀ does not exhibit any cometary activity, and in October 2001 with the Sierra Nevada Observatory 1.50-m telescope in order to add relative magnitudes to improve the determination of the rotation period.
The observations are compatible with a single-peaked rotational lightcurve with a  min period or a double-peaked lightcurve with a  min period. If a single-peaked rotational lightcurve is assumed the amplitude is , and mag for the R, V and B bands, respectively. We present the phase curve obtained when assuming that the lightcurve is single-peaked. This phase curve reveals clearly an increase of about 0.3 mag and of similar importance for the three bands when phase angle decreases from 3.7° to 0.3°. The phase curve reveals a linear increase of the brightness with the decreasing phase angle and, consequently, does not permit a modeling of the opposition surge. Neverthless the poor repartition of the observational data does not permit a firm conclusion concerning the presence or absence of an opposition surge on the phase angle range covered by our data. Complementary observations are needed.