| Issue |
A&A
Volume 682, February 2024
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | A29 | |
| Number of page(s) | 15 | |
| Section | Celestial mechanics and astrometry | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202347820 | |
| Published online | 01 February 2024 | |
An automated procedure for the detection of the Yarkovsky effect and results from the ESA NEO Coordination Centre★
1
ESA ESRIN/PDO/NEO Coordination Centre,
Largo Galileo Galilei 1,
00044
Frascati (RM),
Italy
e-mail: marco.fenucci@ext.esa.int
2
Elecnor Deimos,
Via Giuseppe Verdi 6,
28060
San Pietro Mosezzo (NO),
Italy
3
RHEA Systems,
Via di Grotte Portella 28,
00044
Frascati (RM),
Italy
4
Alia Space System Srl,
Via San Giuseppe Calasanzio 15,
00044
Frascati (RM),
Italy
5
ESA ESTEC / PDO,
Keplerlaan 1,
2201 AZ
Noordwijk,
The Netherlands
6
RHEA Group,
Jonckerweg 18,
2201 DZ
Noordwijk,
The Netherlands
Received:
28
August
2023
Accepted:
10
November
2023
Context. The measurement of the Yarkovsky effect on near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) is common practice in orbit determination today, and the number of detections will increase with the developments of new and more accurate telescopic surveys. However, the process of finding new detections and identifying spurious ones is not yet automated, and it often relies on personal judgment.
Aims. We aim to introduce a more automated procedure that can search for NEA candidates to measure the Yarkovsky effect, and that can identify spurious detections.
Methods. The expected semi-major axis drift on an NEA caused by the Yarkovsky effect was computed with a Monte Carlo method on a statistical model of the physical parameters of the asteroid that relies on the most recent NEA population models and data. The expected drift was used to select candidates in which the Yarkovsky effect might be detected, according to the current knowledge of their orbit and the length of their observational arc. Then, a nongravitational acceleration along the transverse direction was estimated through orbit determination for each candidate. If the detected acceleration was statistically significant, we performed a statistical test to determine whether it was compatible with the Yarkovsky effect model. Finally, we determined the dependence on an isolated tracklet.
Results. Among the known NEAs, our procedure automatically found 348 detections of the Yarkovsky effect that were accepted. The results are overall compatible with the predicted trend with the inverse of the diameter, and the procedure appears to be efficient in identifying and rejecting spurious detections. This algorithm is now adopted by the ESA NEO Coordination Centre to periodically update the catalogue of NEAs with a measurable Yarkovsky effect, and the results are automatically posted on the web portal.
Key words: methods: statistical / minor planets, asteroids: general
Full Tables B.1–B.3 are available at the CDS website/ftp to cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr (130.79.128.5) or via https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/682/A29
© The Authors 2024
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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