Tentative Detection of the Rotation of Eris

Abstract

We report a multi-week sequence of B-band photometric measurements of the dwarf planet Eris using the {\it Swift} satellite. The use of an observatory in low-Earth orbit provides better temporal sampling than is available with a ground-based telescope. We find no compelling evidence for an unusually slow rotation period of multiple days, as has been suggested previously. A $\sim$1.08 day rotation period is marginally detected at a modest level of statistical confidence ($\sim$97%). Analysis of the combination of the $Swift$ data with the ground-based B-band measurements of \citet{2007AJ....133...26R} returns the same period ($\sim$1.08 day) at a slightly higher statistical confidence ($\sim$99%).

Accepted to Icarus 2008-Aug-19. 19 pages total, including 4 figures and 1 table

References in corpus (4)

• The Diverse Solar Phase Curves of Distant Icy Bodies. Part I: Photometric Observations of 18 Trans-Neptunian Objects, 7 Centaurs, and Nereid
• Light Curves of Dwarf Plutonian Planets and other Large Kuiper Belt Objects: Their Rotations, Phase Functions and Absolute Magnitudes
• Direct measurement of the size of 2003 UB313 from the Hubble Space Telescope
• Time series photometry of the dwarf planet ERIS (2003 UB313)

Cited by in corpus (5)

• "TNOs are Cool": A survey of the trans-Neptunian region X. Analysis of classical Kuiper belt objects from Herschel and Spitzer observations
• Transneptunian objects and Centaurs from light curves
• Rotational properties of the binary and non-binary populations in the Trans-Neptunian belt
• The Eris/Dysnomia system I: The orbit of Dysnomia
• Tidally locked rotation of the dwarf planet (136199) Eris discovered from long-term ground based and space photometry