Simultaneous Multicolor Photometry of the DESTINY${}^{+}$ target asteroid (3200) Phaethon

Abstract

Accurate estimation of brightness of (3200) Phaethon up to lower phase angles are essential for planning of the on-board camera of the DESTINY${}^{+}$ mission. We have carried out intensive observations of Phaethon in the optical wavelength ($g$, $r$, and $i$) with the TriCCS camera on the Seimei 3.8 m telescope in October and November, 2021. We derived the absolute magnitude $H_{\mathrm{V}}$ and the slope parameter $G$ of Phaethon as $H_{\mathrm{V}}=14.23\pm 0.02$ and $G=0.040\pm 0.008$ from multiple photometric observations including lower phase angles down to $\sim$9${}^{\circ }$ with the $H$-$G$ model. Using the $H_{\mathrm{V}}$ value and the geometric albedo of Phaethon derived in previous polarimetric studies, we estimated that the Phaethon's diameter is within a range of 5.22 to 6.74 km, which is consistent with radar and occultation observations. With the linear model, we derived $H_{\mathrm{V}}=14.65\pm 0.02$, which corresponds to a diameter range of 4.30 to 5.56 km. Our simultaneous tricolor lightcurves of Phaethon indicate that no rotational spectral variations larger than 0.018 and 0.020 mag in the g-r and r-i colors, possibly related to inhomogeneity of the surface material and/or structure, are seen at the 2021 apparition.

Accepted for publication in PASJ, comments are welcome

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• Multi-epoch spectro-photometric characterization of the minimoon 2024 PT${}_5$ in the visible and near-infrared