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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Authors Guide and Word Templates
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A new, optional, table is available for those wanting to include physical and
discovery information
in a more accessible way.
See the announcement in Minor Planet Bulletin51-2.
The Pts column is no longer required and has been removed from the template for the standard
table
to allow more room for the other columns.
The phase column should have only two values: for the first and last date in the range.
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*7.2,13.7.
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Smith, J.J.; Jones, A.A. (2019).
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"This asteroid was observed at three previous apparitions (Jones, 2015; 2017; 2018)..."
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Photometric studies of 918 Itha and 2008 Konstitutsiya were made in collaboration with observers in Australia and Argentina. The large geographic longitudinal differences between the two locations helped provide a unique solution for the synodic period for both asteroids: 918 Itha, 3.47393 ± 0.00006 h; 2008 Konstitutsiya 11.2692 ± 0.0004 h.
A Shape Model of the Main-belt Asteroid 27 Euterpe
We obtained dense rotational lightcurves for the mainbelt asteroid 27 Euterpe during four apparitions in 2000, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The analysis indicates retrograde rotation and suggests, but does not confirm, that Euterpe has albedo features making the determination of an unambiguous spin vector and model shape difficult. Euterpe's apparent nearly spherical shape, low inclination, and pole within about 35 degrees of the plane of the solar system, caused two pole and shape solutions to be present, differing by about 180° in longitude. We found solutions of (83°, -39°, 10.40825 ± 0.00003 h) and (261°, -30°, 10.40818 ± 0.00003 h). The approximate error in the pole solutions is ± 10 degrees.
Pages 5-8 Betzler, Alberto Silva; Novaes, Alberto Brum; Santos, Antonio Carlos P.; Sobral, Edvaldo Gonçalves; Dutra, Glenon; França, Lucas; Almeida, Anderson; Santos, Isaac Silva; Barros, Lucas Guimarães; Augusto, Yulo; Schettini, Poliana; Lima, Isaias; Cardoso, Gerlan; Freire, Marcus Elias Silva; Vieira, Thaís Ribeiro; Cerqueira, Welington 2012MPBu...39....5BDownload PDF
Twenty-three solar system minor bodies were measured photometrically between 2005 February and 2011 July using robotic telescopes in North America, Europe, and Australia. From the data obtained we determine for these objects their basic physical proprieties, such as Johnson- Cousins BVRI colors, H-G parameters, diameters, and a Tholen taxonomic classification. We found that 70% of our near-Earth asteroid sample belong to S-, Q-, X-, and C-complexes; 2009 BH81 may be a candidate to a new A type asteroid; 2010 RF12 is an S-type and it has absolute magnitude H = 28.46 ± 0.05, G = 0.31 ± 0.06 and D = 6 ± 1 m; the possible dust envelope around (596) Scheila and P/2010 A2 have similar colors.
Minor Planets at Unusually Favorable Elongations in 2012
Lightcurves of three asteroids were obtained from Santana Observatory and Goat Mountain Astronomical Research Station (GMARS) from 2011 July to September: 688 Melanie, 1077 Campanula, and (42265) 2001 QL69.
Previous attempts at rotation period determination for 185 Eunike have yielded values of 10.83, 11.02, 14.56, and 21.807 hours, respectively. An aliasing situation appears in which the shorter periods are very near 1/2 and 2/3 of the 21.8 hour period. New observations show a period of 21.797 ± 0.001 hours, amplitude 0.15 ± 0.02 magnitudes, and rule out all of the shorter periods.
5088 Tancredi: Rotation Period and Phase Coefficients
The main-belt asteroid 5088 Tancredi was observed during a period of 42 days close to the 2009 opposition. The data were collected with a clear filter on 15 different nights. R-magnitudes were calculated using the MPOSC3 Catalog. The observations covered a range of phase angles from 0.35° to 16°. The phase coefficients in the H-G system (R-mag) are: HR = 12.36 HR = 12.36 [12.30, 12.43]; G = 0.058 [-0.036, 0.153], with 95% confidence range presented within the brackets. Based on the low value of G, the asteroid can be tentatively classified as a C-type asteroid. A precise estimate of the rotation period is computed as P = 5.05909 ± 0.00014 h. The amplitude is A = 0.31 mag.
Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory: 2011 June - September
Lightcurve analysis for 414 Liriope was performed from observations obtained during its 2011 opposition. The synodic rotation period was found to be 7.353 ± 0.002 h and the lightcurve amplitude was 0.13 ± 0.05 mag.
Lightcurves for 2567 Elba, 2573 Hannu Olavi, 2731 Cucula, 4930 Rephiltim 6952 Niccolo, and 7750 McEwen
The lightcurves for three main-belt asteroids, 1413 Roucarie, 3385 Bronnina, and 39890 Bobstephens. All observations were taken from the DanHenge Observatory, one of 13 observatories at Goat Mountain Astronomical Research Station (GMARS - MPC G79).
Observations of main-belt minor planet 1820 Lohmann were undertaken by Lenomiya Observatory during 2011 August-September. Data analysis found a period of 14.048 ± 0.001 h with amplitude 0.48 ± 0.01 mag.
Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Oakley Souther Sky Observatory: 2011 April-May
Observations carried out in 2011 August and September allowed us to determine the synodic periods of 1077 Campanula and 1151 Ithaka. For 1077 Campanula, a period of 3.850 ± 0.001 h and amplitude of 0.36 mag were found. 1151 Ithaka exhibited an irregularly-shaped lightcurve with a period of 4.932 ± 0.001 h and amplitude of 0.15 mag.
The following list is a very small subset of the results of a search for asteroid-deepsky appulses for 2012, presenting only the highlights for the year based on close approaches of brighter asteroids to brighter DSOs.
Pages 31-34 Warner, Brian D.; Harris, Alan W.; Pravec, Petr; Durech, Josef; Benner, Lance A. M. 2012MPBu...39...31WDownload PDF
We present lists of asteroid photometry opportunities for objects reaching a favorable apparition and having no or poorly-defined lightcurve parameters. Additional data on these objects will help with shape and spin axis modeling via lightcurve inversion. We also include lists of objects that will be the target of radar observations. Lightcurves for these objects can help constrain pole solutions and/or remove rotation period ambiguities that might not come from using radar data alone.
