Astrophysicists study asteroid 3200 Phaeton

Astrophysicists study asteroid 3200 Phaeton

5 years ago
Anonymous $ZPWJA6-QD2

https://phys.org/news/2018-10-astrophysicists-asteroid-phaeton.html

"Using very simple and relatively inexpensive tools, we have achieved results comparable with those obtained with much bigger instruments. We studied Phaeton with a small telescope whose aperture (a primary mirror diameter) is only 22 cm. However, we obtained results of quite good quality. Surprisingly, our results appear to be more accurate than those measured by some of our colleagues with much more powerful telescopes. This is due to our non-standard solution: We decided to avoid any photometric filters except for the polarimeter," said Evgenij Zubko.

The scientist emphasized that Phaeton is of high interest for astronomers for several reasons. First, it is a near-Earth object, which makes it possible to study Phaeton using radar and other methods. Second, the asteroid has a quite elongated orbit and approaches the sun at one-sixth of an AU. For that reason, it is heated to 750-1000 Kelvin (476—726 Celsius) every 1.5 years. That's why it was named after Phaeton, the hero of the Greek myth, the son of Helios (god of the sun).