Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T20:24:12.172Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Impact of GAIA in our Knowledgeof Asteroids

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2002

O. Bienaymé ,
C. Turon ,
V. Zappalà  and
A. Cellino
V. Zappalà
Affiliation:
Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino, 10025 Pino Torinese, Italy
A. Cellino
Affiliation:
Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino, 10025 Pino Torinese, Italy
Get access

Abstract

GAIA will likely be a real milestone for asteroid science. Itsunprecedented astrometric accuracy can be exploited to compute orbitsbetter than those obtained by using the whole set of availableastrometric observations carried out from ground during the last 100 years. GAIA will make it possible to measure asteroid masses throughthe measurement of the tiny displacements caused by asteroid mutualencounters. This will be a major breakthrough for physical studies ofminor planets. Moreover, sizes will be also directly measured for abig sample of more than 1000 objects. From masses and sizes, estimatesof the average densities will be also obtained. The spectrophotometriccapability of GAIA will be used for purposes of taxonomicclassification, with important implications for surface mineralogicalcharacterization. Finally, GAIA will be an ideal platform to detectnear-Earth asteroids having orbits interior to that of the Earth.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Astronomical Society Publications Series , Volume 2: GAIA: A European Space Project , 2002 , pp. 343 - 349
Copyright
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)