Spectroscopic Survey of Small Solar System Bodies with Ariel
Abstract
The small Solar System bodies (SSSBs) preserve records of the formation and evolution of the Solar System. In particular, the near-infrared wavelength region around 3 μm provides crucial insights into the origin and transport of hydrated materials and organics, although it is difficult to observe from the ground because of strong telluric absorption. We assess the observability of SSSBs as complementary science to the ESA Ariel space mission, operating in the visible to mid-infrared wavelength range (0.5--7.8 μm). Using the NASA JPL Horizons ephemeris system, we evaluate the visibility of known SSSBs from 2032 to 2035. Our analysis shows that Ariel can spectroscopically characterize up to 402 unique SSSBs under a conservative limiting visual magnitude of V=13.6. If observations can be extended to somewhat fainter targets (V=16), the number of observable SSSBs could increase to 2144. Assuming operational scenarios in which one SSSB is observed every 3, 7, or 30 days over a four-year mission, the total numbers of observable targets would be 357, 209, and 49, respectively. We further model the spectral energy distributions of candidate targets to evaluate their observational performance. We demonstrate that Ariel can resolve critical absorption features, such as those at 2.7 μm and 3.4 μm, with a higher spectral resolution than the previous infrared survey with AKARI. Observations of SSSBs with Ariel can provide insights into the distribution and evolution of life-forming materials in the Solar System and constitute a scientifically compelling component of Ariel's complementary science program.
Related
- A multi-epoch search for distant Solar System bodies in the Catalina Sky Survey
- 3.5-meter Segmented-Mirror Robotic Space Telescope Mission White Paper IV. Key Scientific Mission: Solar-System Small Bodies and Planetary Defense
- Asteroid Factory: High-fidelity Multiphysics Modeling of Small Solar System Bodies via Volumetric Aggregate Synthesis
- Editorial: Dynamic exospheres of terrestrial bodies through the solar system
- Hydrogen Isotopic Fractionation in the Solar Nebula and Implications for Water in Earth and Inner Solar System Bodies.
BibTeX
@misc{beniyama2026spectroscopic,
title = {{Spectroscopic Survey of Small Solar System Bodies with Ariel}},
author = {Jin Beniyama and Eri Tatsumi and Sunao Hasegawa and Keigo Enya and Matt Griffin and Andreas Papageorgiou and Lorenzo V. Mugnai and Csaba Kiss and Moe Matsuoka and Takafumi Ootsubo and Subhajit Sarkar},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.35825},
eprint = {2610.35825},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.35825},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Spectroscopic Survey of Small Solar System Bodies with Ariel
AU - Jin Beniyama
AU - Eri Tatsumi
AU - Sunao Hasegawa
AU - Keigo Enya
AU - Matt Griffin
AU - Andreas Papageorgiou
AU - Lorenzo V. Mugnai
AU - Csaba Kiss
AU - Moe Matsuoka
AU - Takafumi Ootsubo
AU - Subhajit Sarkar
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.35825
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.35825
AB - The small Solar System bodies (SSSBs) preserve records of the formation and evolution of the Solar System. In particular, the near-infrared wavelength region around 3 μm provides crucial insights into the origin and transport of hydrated materials and organics, although it is difficult to observe from the ground because of strong telluric absorption. We assess the observability of SSSBs as complementary science to the ESA Ariel space mission, operating in the visible to mid-infrared wavelength range (0.5--7.8 μm). Using the NASA JPL Horizons ephemeris system, we evaluate the visibility of known SSSBs from 2032 to 2035. Our analysis shows that Ariel can spectroscopically characterize up to 402 unique SSSBs under a conservative limiting visual magnitude of V=13.6. If observations can be extended to somewhat fainter targets (V=16), the number of observable SSSBs could increase to 2144. Assuming operational scenarios in which one SSSB is observed every 3, 7, or 30 days over a four-year mission, the total numbers of observable targets would be 357, 209, and 49, respectively. We further model the spectral energy distributions of candidate targets to evaluate their observational performance. We demonstrate that Ariel can resolve critical absorption features, such as those at 2.7 μm and 3.4 μm, with a higher spectral resolution than the previous infrared survey with AKARI. Observations of SSSBs with Ariel can provide insights into the distribution and evolution of life-forming materials in the Solar System and constitute a scientifically compelling component of Ariel's complementary science program.
ER -