2020 BX12—The Last Binary Asteroid Discovered at Arecibo
Radar observations of 2020 BX _12 conducted with the S -band planetary radar system (2380 MHz, 12.6 cm) at the Arecibo Observatory on 2020 February 4 and 5 revealed that this potentially hazardous asteroid is a binary system. Spectroscopic observations with the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias on 202...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Planetary Science Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adbe39 |
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| author | Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin Sean E. Marshall Ellen S. Howell Julia de León Noemi Pinilla-Alonso Anne K. Virkki Jon Giorgini Flaviane C. F. Venditti |
| author_facet | Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin Sean E. Marshall Ellen S. Howell Julia de León Noemi Pinilla-Alonso Anne K. Virkki Jon Giorgini Flaviane C. F. Venditti |
| author_sort | Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Radar observations of 2020 BX _12 conducted with the S -band planetary radar system (2380 MHz, 12.6 cm) at the Arecibo Observatory on 2020 February 4 and 5 revealed that this potentially hazardous asteroid is a binary system. Spectroscopic observations with the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias on 2024 February 16 indicate that 2020 BX _12 is an S-complex asteroid (Bus–DeMeo taxonomy). We present the results of shape modeling and orbit fitting based on the radar observations. The system consists of a primary of a diameter ∼205 m and a ∼50 m secondary revolving around their common center of mass. This size places the system among the smallest 10% of known binary asteroid systems. The orbital period of the system is >40 hr. The semimajor axis is >375 m. This binary system, like many other binary near-Earth asteroids, features a spheroidal primary spinning near the breakup point, indicating likely formation through spin-up and fission and migration from the main belt. 2020 BX _12 was the last binary asteroid discovered at Arecibo. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-41c5bbf2818a4ff58a1df988ba782425 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2632-3338 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Planetary Science Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-41c5bbf2818a4ff58a1df988ba7824252025-08-20T02:11:54ZengIOP PublishingThe Planetary Science Journal2632-33382025-01-01649110.3847/PSJ/adbe392020 BX12—The Last Binary Asteroid Discovered at AreciboLuisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6615-4040Sean E. Marshall1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8144-7570Ellen S. Howell2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7683-5843Julia de León3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0696-0411Noemi Pinilla-Alonso4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2770-7896Anne K. Virkki5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4129-5381Jon Giorgini6Flaviane C. F. Venditti7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9150-8376Universidad de Granada , Escuela Internacional de Posgrado, Granada, Spain ; luisafz@correo.ugr.es; Florida Space Institute, University of Central Florida , 12354 Research Pkwy., Orlando, FL 32826, USAFlorida Space Institute, University of Central Florida , 12354 Research Pkwy., Orlando, FL, USALunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USAInstituto de Astrofísica de Canarias , C/Vía Láctea s/n, 38205 La Laguna, SpainInstitute of Space Sciences and Technologies of Asturias, University of Oviedo , C/Independencia, 13, 33004 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Central Florida , 4111 Libra Dr., Orlando, FL 32816, USAUniversity of Helsinki , Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, Helsinki, 00560, FinlandJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , MS 301-150, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USAFlorida Space Institute, University of Central Florida , 12354 Research Pkwy., Orlando, FL, USARadar observations of 2020 BX _12 conducted with the S -band planetary radar system (2380 MHz, 12.6 cm) at the Arecibo Observatory on 2020 February 4 and 5 revealed that this potentially hazardous asteroid is a binary system. Spectroscopic observations with the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias on 2024 February 16 indicate that 2020 BX _12 is an S-complex asteroid (Bus–DeMeo taxonomy). We present the results of shape modeling and orbit fitting based on the radar observations. The system consists of a primary of a diameter ∼205 m and a ∼50 m secondary revolving around their common center of mass. This size places the system among the smallest 10% of known binary asteroid systems. The orbital period of the system is >40 hr. The semimajor axis is >375 m. This binary system, like many other binary near-Earth asteroids, features a spheroidal primary spinning near the breakup point, indicating likely formation through spin-up and fission and migration from the main belt. 2020 BX _12 was the last binary asteroid discovered at Arecibo.https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adbe39Near-Earth objectsRadar observationsAsteroid satellitesRadar telescopesAsteroidsSmall Solar System bodies |
| spellingShingle | Luisa Fernanda Zambrano-Marin Sean E. Marshall Ellen S. Howell Julia de León Noemi Pinilla-Alonso Anne K. Virkki Jon Giorgini Flaviane C. F. Venditti 2020 BX12—The Last Binary Asteroid Discovered at Arecibo The Planetary Science Journal Near-Earth objects Radar observations Asteroid satellites Radar telescopes Asteroids Small Solar System bodies |
| title | 2020 BX12—The Last Binary Asteroid Discovered at Arecibo |
| title_full | 2020 BX12—The Last Binary Asteroid Discovered at Arecibo |
| title_fullStr | 2020 BX12—The Last Binary Asteroid Discovered at Arecibo |
| title_full_unstemmed | 2020 BX12—The Last Binary Asteroid Discovered at Arecibo |
| title_short | 2020 BX12—The Last Binary Asteroid Discovered at Arecibo |
| title_sort | 2020 bx12 the last binary asteroid discovered at arecibo |
| topic | Near-Earth objects Radar observations Asteroid satellites Radar telescopes Asteroids Small Solar System bodies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/PSJ/adbe39 |
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