Astronomy12 papers
The Yarkovsky effect
IŽ
Ivana Milić Žitnik
All Reviews
AstronomyWorth Reading
advanced
Near Earth Asteroids with measurable Yarkovsky effect
D. Farnocchia et al. (2013)
- Published
- May 1, 2013
- Journal
- Icarus · Vol. 224 · No. 1
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.icarus.2013.02.004
At a Glance
Robustly measures Yarkovsky-driven orbital drift for 21 NEAs using precision dynamics and careful astrometry, improving spin/impact inferences.
Summary
This paper expands direct evidence for the Yarkovsky effect in near-Earth asteroids by extracting a measurable semimajor-axis drift from orbit fits while tightly controlling for modeling and astrometric systematics. Using a high-fidelity force model (including relativistic terms and 16 massive asteroids) plus debiased/weighted astrometry, the authors identify 21 reliable detections with SNR>3 and show most drifts are negative, implying a strong excess of retrograde rotators. They connect that retrograde excess to NEA delivery via resonances (especially ν6) and show measured drifts can constrain physical properties like bulk density/thermal inertia when some spin/size information exists. The work also clarifies when Yarkovsky becomes the dominant uncertainty in long-term impact prediction, with implications for cases like 1950 DA and future monitoring horizons.
Method Snapshot
Simultaneous orbit determination with an added one-parameter transverse nongravitational acceleration (A2) to fit Yarkovsky-induced drift from radar+optical astrometry.
Background
Background in celestial mechanics/orbit determination and basic thermal recoil physics (Yarkovsky/YORP) for small bodies.