Abstract
Adaptive optics was utilized to discover a moon around asteroid 45 Eugenia and used to resolve the Pluto-Charon system. It was observed that Eugenia is elongated and the bulk density of the asteroid was found to be low. This means that the asteroid is either a burned out comet or has a hollow `rubber-pile' structure. The images were of high spatial resolution and clearly showed that Pluto is separated from Charon. Accurate photometry was possible for both Pluto and Charon. The images showed that Pluto's albedo is mainly governed by the presence of CH4 ice covering its surface and Charon is mostly covered with water-ice.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | II/- |
Journal | Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering |
Volume | 4007 |
State | Published - 2000 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | Adaptive Optical Systems Technology - Munich, Ger Duration: Mar 29 2000 → Mar 31 2000 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Computer Science Applications
- Applied Mathematics
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering