The Minor Planet Bulletin BULLETIN OF THE MINOR PLANETS SECTION OF THE ASSOCIATION OF LUNAR AND PLANETARY OBSERVERS
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The Minor Planet Bulletin is the journal for almost all amateurs and even some professionals for publishing
asteroid photometry results, including lightcurves, H-G parameters, color indexes, and shape/spin axis models.
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Over the course of four nights in 2026 February, broadband monitoring of 1777 Gehrels was conducted through a Johnson V filter. We find a best-fit rotation period of 2.836 ± 0.001 h, which agrees very well with previous measurements, and a V-band amplitude of variability of ÄV=0.19 ± 0.01 mag, which is on the low end of previously reported measurements. A few observations were also collected in B and R on a single night, and we find B-V=0.89 ± 0.10 mag and V-R=0.47 ± 0.05 mag, which is typical for stony asteroids.
Lightcurves, Synodic Rotation Period and Spin of Trojan Asteroid (2893) Peiroos
For Jupiter Trojan asteroid (2893) Peiroos, we present updated estimates of the synodic rotation period (P), the pole orientation in the ecliptic coordinate system, the axis ratios B/A and C/A and the lightcurve amplitudes for the observation epochs 2011.6 and 2023.8.
Rotational Period Determination for Asteroid 85 Io
Pages 175-176 Gabellini, Davide; Mortari, Fabio
CCD photometric observations of main-belt asteroid 85 Io were made between 2025 November and December in order to measure its rotation period.
Lightcurves and Rotation Periods of 1027 Aesculapia and 1062 Ljuba
Pages 176-177 Pilcher, Frederick
Synodic rotation periods and amplitudes are found for 1027 Aesculapia 19.593 ± 0.003 hours, 0.11 ± 0.01 magnitudes with an asymmetric bimodal lightcurve; and 1062 Ljuba 33.78 ± 0.01 hours, 0.09 ± 0.01 magnitudes, with one maximum and minimum per rotational cycle.
Lightcurves for (631) Philippina and (771) Libera from the Union College Observatory
We present lightcurves for asteroids 2345 Fucik, 3181 Ahnert, and (34704) 2001 OS80 obtained during February and March 2024 using the Tonantzintla Schmidt Camera, located in Puebla, México. For 2345 Fucik, a period of 17.123 ± 0.002 h and an amplitude of 0.42 mag, consistent with previous studies, were obtained. A reliable period could not be estimated for 3181 Ahnert due to low photometric variability. For (34704) 2001 OS80, a rotation period of 3.004 ± 0.002 h and an amplitude of 0.21 mag were determined.
Based on 86 sessions 2026 Jan. 30 - March 26, we find for 630 Euphemia a synodic rotation period 387.2 ± 0.2 hours, amplitude 0.45 ± 0.05 magnitudes. The period, amplitude, and epoch of lightcurve maximum all agree with a posting on the DAMIT website. Data obtained on 2026 Feb. 18 show that B-V=0.83 ± 0.03 and V-R = 0.46 ± 0.03. At mid-light, H=11.25 ± 0.03 in the V band, G=0.25 ± 0.03.
Photometric Observations of Asteroids 1090 Sumida, 1825 Klare and 1884 Skip
Photometric observations of three main-belt asteroids were conducted to verify or determine their synodic rotation periods. For 1090 Sumida, we found P = 2.720 ± 0.001 h with A = 0.16 ± 0.02 mag. For 1825 Klare, we found P = 4.742 ± 0.001 h with A = 0.64 ± 0.02 mag. For 1884 Skip, we found P = 2.894 ± 0.001 h with A = 0.19 ± 0.03 mag.
Pages 186-187 Fauerbach, Michael; Lucas, Michael P.; Sanchez Valencia, David
Photometric observations of two Vesta family members [1929 Kollaa and (47369) 1999 XA88], Eunomia family member 9356 Elineke, and outer main-belt asteroid (27185) 1999 CH37 were obtained to verify their synodic rotation periods. We found: 1929 Kollaa P = 2.970 ± 0.011 h with A = 0.21 ± 0.02 mag; 9356 Elineke P = 2.77 ± 0.01 h with A = 0.16 ± 0.02 mag; (27185) 1999 CH37 P = 3.178 ± 0.027 h with A = 0.20 ± 0.04 mag; (47369) 1999 XA88 P = 2.56 ± 0.03 h with A = 0.24 ± 0.05 mag.
Study and Review of Lightcurves and Rotation Periods of 14 Asteroids
Pages 188-192 González Farfán, Rafael; García de la Cuesta, Faustino; Reina Lorenz, Esteban; Botana Albá, Carlos; De Elías Cantalapiedra, Javier; Ruiz Fernández, Javier; Limón Martínez, Fernando; Fernández Andújar, José María; Delgado Casal, Jesús; Polancos Ruiz, Javier
We present results of our investigation of lightcurves for the rotation periods of 14 asteroids, with new observations carried out by members of the Spanish Asteroid Observers Group over the months from 2024 November to 2026 March. The 14 asteroids studied and period results are: 98 Ianthe (16.497 h), 415 Palatia (20.728 h), 507 Laodica (4.707 h), 1005 Arago (8.789 h), 1148 Rarahu (6.540 h), 1499 Pori (3.350 h), 1541 Estonia (12.888 h), 2394 Nadeev (6.539 h), 2810 Lev Tolstoj (3.051 h), 3069 Heyrovsky (6.848 h), 3247 Di Martino (5.446 h), 8295 Toshifukushima (2.911 h), 10142 Sakka (3.347 h) and 14342 Iglika (3.988 h).
Photometry of Twelve Minor Planets
Pages 193-196 Polakis, Tom
Photometric measurements were made for 12 asteroids, based on CCD observations made from 2025 November through 2026 February. Phased lightcurves were created for 10 of the asteroids. All the data have been submitted to the ALCDEF database.
Asteroid Photometry for Thirteen Main Belt Asteroids
Photometric observations of six asteroids were collected to contribute to their physical characterization. Lightcurves were acquired for 1027 Aesculapia, 1584 Fuji, 1586 Thiele, 1737 Severny, 3763 Qianxuesen, and 2026 GD.
Lightcurve Analysis for One Mars-crosser and Six Main-belt Asteroids
Synodic rotation periods and amplitudes are reported for: 856 Backlunda, 1390 Abastumani, 1952 Hesburgh, 2810 Lev Tolstoj, 3940 Larion, 5514 Karelraska, 7631 Vokrouhlicky, 10416 Kottler, 16958 Klaasen, 21831 1999 TX93, 70171 1999 OL2.
Lightcurve Analysis for Five Near-Earth Asteroids Observed between January and March 2026
Pages 212-216 Birtwhistle, Peter
Lightcurves and amplitudes for five near-Earth asteroids observed from Great Shefford Observatory during close approaches between January and March 2026 are reported. All are small objects with rotation periods significantly shorter than the spin barrier at ~2.2 h. One is identified as having tumbling rotation and another is a suspected low-amplitude tumbler.
General Report of Position Observations by the ALPO Minor Planet Section for the Year 2025
Pages 217 Pilcher, Frederick
Observations of positions of minor planets by members of the Minor Planets Section in calendar year 2025 are summarized.
In This Issue
Pages 218 Warner, Brian D.
This list gives those asteroids in this issue for which physical observations (excluding astrometric only) were made. This includes lightcurves, color index, and H-G determinations, etc. In some cases, no specific results are reported due to a lack of or poor quality data. The page number is for the first page of the paper mentioning the asteroid. EP is the "go to page" value in the electronic version.