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D. Osip, J. L. Elliot, S. D. Kern (MIT)
Beginning with observing runs in March and June of this year, we have initiated a program of KBO and Centaur broadband photometric observations to obtain a consistent set of magnitudes and colors as well as to investigate rotational variability. Using the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Magellan Instant Camera (MagIC) on the Baade 6.5m telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, we have obtained broadband photometric color measurements for a dozen KBOs and Centaurs using Sloan r’ and i’ (and in some cases g’ and z’) filters. In addition, an astrometric recovery program for KBOs discovered by the Deep Ecliptic Survey (Millis et al. this conference) has yielded Sloan r’ measurements for more than 50 additional KBOs. We present the results of these initial studies including photometry of the intrinsically brightest KBO yet detected 28978 (2001 KX76, IAUC 7657), with B,V,R,I, and Sloan g’,r’,i’,z’ filters.
This work is partially supported by NSF Grant AST 9977535 and NASA Grant NAG5-10444.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: osip@mit.edu