Study of small bodies potential

• Grant number: 17/26855-3
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Aerospace Engineering - Flight Dynamics
• Principal researcher: Othon Cabo Winter
• Grantee: Giulia Valvano Do Prado Ribeiro
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEG). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Guaratinguetá. Guaratinguetá , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/24561-0 - On the relevance of small bodies in orbital dynamics, AP.TEM

Abstract

Solar system small bodies, as asteroids, comets and some satellites, have a shape very distinct from a spherical one. Some of them had their shape obtained by spacecraft images or through data from radio telescopes from Earth. In general, the shape of these bodies is reproduced in terms of a set of polyhedral with triangular faces, where are know all of their vertices. Assuming a value for the body's density and considering it to be homogeneous, it is possible to determine its gravitational potential. That is made through numerical integration based on the faces and vertices that compose the body. Following that approach were written computational routines that allow to dynamically exploring the neighborhood around these small bodies. In particular, obtaining dynamical characteristics such as zero velocity curves, equilibrium points, stability regions, etc. The main goals of this project are: I) to explore the gravitational field around small bodies; II) to determine the location of equilibrium points and analyze their linear stability. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

WINTER, O. C.; VALVANO, G.; MOURA, T. S.; BORDERES-MOTTA, G.; AMARANTE, A.; SFAIR, R. Asteroid triple-system 2001 SN263: surface characteristics and dynamical environment. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v. 492, n. 3, p. 4437-4455, MAR 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.