VR photometry of sixteen Kuiper belt objects

We present V and R photometry of 16 Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) from the 3.6-m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo and the Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito 2.1-m telescope. We find-a wide dispersion in the (V-R) colors of the objects, indicating nonuniform surface properties. If we assume near constant albedos, there does not appear to be a general trend of redness with size, but the color range for classical KBOs in our sample appears to be wider than for Plutinos. Unless the albedo value is variable for different objects, 1998 SN165 becomes the largest Plutino so far identified, apart from Pluto (diameter = 2400 km) and Charon (1200 km). (C) 2001 Academic Press.