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Asteroid 21 Lutetia: low mass, high density.

Authors :
Pätzold M
Andert TP
Asmar SW
Anderson JD
Barriot JP
Bird MK
Häusler B
Hahn M
Tellmann S
Sierks H
Lamy P
Weiss BP
Source :
Science (New York, N.Y.) [Science] 2011 Oct 28; Vol. 334 (6055), pp. 491-2.
Publication Year :
2011

Abstract

Asteroid 21 Lutetia was approached by the Rosetta spacecraft on 10 July 2010. The additional Doppler shift of the spacecraft radio signals imposed by 21 Lutetia's gravitational perturbation on the flyby trajectory were used to determine the mass of the asteroid. Calibrating and correcting for all Doppler contributions not associated with Lutetia, a least-squares fit to the residual frequency observations from 4 hours before to 6 hours after closest approach yields a mass of (1.700 ± 0.017) × 10(18) kilograms. Using the volume model of Lutetia determined by the Rosetta Optical, Spectroscopic, and Infrared Remote Imaging System (OSIRIS) camera, the bulk density, an important parameter for clues to its composition and interior, is (3.4 ± 0.3) × 10(3) kilograms per cubic meter.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1095-9203
Volume :
334
Issue :
6055
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
22034429
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1209389