Program: GN-2008B-Q-51

Radar and photometry studies in the past decade have shown that ~15% of NEAs are binary systems. The existence of these systems potentially allows the measurement of bulk density trends with size and composition in small asteroids, thereby testing physical and dynamical evolution models. We are applying for a Target of Opportunity programme to perform AO imaging of NEAs during close approaches to Earth. We will observe ~5 NEAs at distances <0.04 AU to search for binarity and, if detected, measure their mutual orbits. This programme should result in the first optically resolved images of a binary NEA and result in a powerful technique for constraining the internal structure of small asteroids.