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Description
The goal of this work is the study of 2005FY_9's short term variability in order to determine the amplitude of the lightcurve, which can be linked to the degree of elongation of the body or to the degree of albedo heterogeneity on the surface. Besides, the rotation period can be determined. CCD photometric observations of the transneptunian object 2005FY_9 in R band on 21 nights spanning several months have been carried out using the 1.5m telescope at Sierra Nevada Observatory and the 2.2m telescope at Calar Alto Observatory. The time series analysis results in confident detection of short-term variability. The most significant periodicities are 11.24+/-0.01h and its double, but other possibilities cannot be ruled out. The 22.48h double peaked rotational phase curve is slightly preferred from our analysis. As for the amplitude of the lightcurve, we get a peak to peak variability of 0.03+/-0.01mag. This result is compatible with a nearly spherical body that has a very homogeneous surface. There is also the possibility that the body is rotating nearly pole on, but we believe this is less likely. Very weak constraints are obtained for the density and internal strength based on the rotational properties derived from the photometry.
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