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Small bodies science with the Twinkle space telescope

Edwards, B; Lindsay, S; Savini, G; Tinetti, G; Arena, C; Bowles, N; Tessenyi, M; (2019) Small bodies science with the Twinkle space telescope. Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems , 5 (3) , Article 034004. 10.1117/1.JATIS.5.3.034004. Green open access

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Abstract

© 2019 Society of PhotoOptical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Twinkle is an upcoming 0.45-m space-based telescope equipped with a visible and two near-infrared spectrometers covering the spectral range 0.4 to 4.5 μm with a resolving power R 250 (λ < 2.42 μm) and R 60 (λ > 2.42 μm). We explore Twinkle's capabilities for small bodies science and find that, given Twinkle's sensitivity, pointing stability, and spectral range, the mission can observe a large number of small bodies. The sensitivity of Twinkle is calculated and compared to the flux from an object of a given visible magnitude. The number, and brightness, of asteroids and comets that enter Twinkle's field of regard is studied over three time periods of up to a decade. We find that, over a decade, several thousand asteroids enter Twinkle's field of regard with a brightness and nonsidereal rate that will allow Twinkle to characterize them at the instrumentation's native resolution with SNR > 100. Hundreds of comets can also be observed. Therefore, Twinkle offers researchers the opportunity to contribute significantly to the field of Solar System small bodies research.

Type: Article
Title: Small bodies science with the Twinkle space telescope
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1117/1.JATIS.5.3.034004
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.5.3.034004
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: space telescope; visible and near-infrared spectroscopy; Solar System bodies
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10082417
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