2002/06/27 by E. Lellouch, R. Moreno, Ramón Moreno +4 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #Planetary Science and Exploration #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20020903
Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics (7 pages, including 3 figures)
arxiv created 2002/06/27 · openalex publication_date 2002/08/09 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We report on coordinated thermal and optical measurements of trans-Neptunian object (20 000)Varuna obtained in January–February 2002, respectively from the IRAM 30-m and IAA 1.5 m telescopes. The optical data show a lightcurve with a period of hr, a mean V magnitude of and a magnitude amplitude. They also tentatively indicate that the lightcurve is asymmetric and double-peaked. The thermal observations indicate a mJy flux, averaged over the object's rotation. Combining the two datasets, we infer that Varuna has a mean 1060 km diameter and a mean 0.038 V geometric albedo, in general agreement with an earlier determination using the same technique.