ESO-Large Program on TNOs: Near-infrared spectroscopy with SINFONI

We present in this work the observations performed with SINFONI in the framework of a new ESO-Large Program (2006–2008) on Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) and Centaurs. We obtained 21 near-infrared (1.49 to 2.4 microns) spectra of high quality, including 4 spectra of objects never observed before. We...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962) N.Y. 1962), 2009-05, Vol.201 (1), p.272-283
Main Authors: Guilbert, Aurélie, Alvarez-Candal, Alvaro, Merlin, Frédéric, Barucci, Maria Antonietta, Dumas, Christophe, de Bergh, Catherine, Delsanti, Audrey
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Centaurs
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Ices
Infrared observations
Kuiper belt
Solar system
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Summary:We present in this work the observations performed with SINFONI in the framework of a new ESO-Large Program (2006–2008) on Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) and Centaurs. We obtained 21 near-infrared (1.49 to 2.4 microns) spectra of high quality, including 4 spectra of objects never observed before. We search for the presence of features due to ices, particularly water ice. Eris is the only object showing deep methane ice absorption bands. The spectra of 4 objects are featureless, and 6 others show clearly the presence of water ice. For 7 objects, the detections are more ambiguous, but absorption bands could be embedded in the noise. The 3 remaining spectra are too noisy to draw any reliable conclusion. The possible amount of water ice on each object's surface has been computed. The analysis shows that some objects present strong compositional heterogeneities over the surface (e.g. Chariklo), while some others are completely homogeneous (e.g. Quaoar).
ISSN:0019-1035
1090-2643
DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2008.12.023