Short-term rotational variability of eight KBOs from Sierra Nevada Observatory

Abstract

In 2001, we started a CCD photometry programme to study the short-term variability of some of the brightest TNOs and Centaurs from the Sierra Nevada observatory. In this paper, we report our latest results on short-term rotational variability of 7 trans-neptunian objects: Orcus (2004 DW), 2002 AW197, 2003 AZ84, 2003 VS2, 2002 VE 95, 2001 YH140, 1996 TL66, and a Centaur: 2003 CO1. Analysis of the photometric data revealed confident periodicities for 6 objects, with all the lightcurve amplitudes smaller than 0.2 mag, except for 2003 VS2. Considering all the objects for which reliable lightcurve amplitudes have been reported in the literature (32), the new statistics reveal that 31 % of the bodies show variability above 0.15 mag, but only 16% of them display larger amplitudes than 0.4 mag. Here we present a summary of the main results obtained for these objects, and discuss the implications for their basic physical properties. © ESO 2006.