International radar observations of near-Earth asteroids on radio telescopes of Quasar VLBI Network

Yu. Bondarenko, D. Marshalov, D. Vavilov, Y. Medvedev

Proceedings of the All-Russian Conference “Ground-Based Astronomy in Russia. 21st Century”, Special Astrophysical Observatory of RAS Eds: I.I. Romanyuk, I.A. Yakunin, A.F. Valeev, D.J. Kudryavtsev, 455–457 (2020)

DOI: 10.26119/978-5-6045062-0-2_2020_455

Keywords: minor planets, asteroids: general; techniques: radar astronomy

Abstract

The first radar observations of a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) with 32-meter radio telescopes (RT-32) of the Russian VLBI Network Quasar were carried out in July 2015 in collaboration with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology and the Goldstone Observatory. The object of study was the potentially hazardous asteroid 2011 UW158 during its close approach to the Earth. Since then, 8 more NEAs have been detected with the RT-32 radio telescopes. During processing and analysis of radar observations, the size, shape and spin states of these asteroids were estimated. The obtained radar scattering properties clarified the spectral classes and near-surface roughness.