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.
It is considered to be a refereed journal by the SAO/NASA ADS.
All MPB papers are indexed in the ADS.
Print subscriptions are no longer available to individuals. Institutions (e.g., college libraries) can still
obtain print copies via a special subscription. See details in MPB 37-4 or contact the editor, Richard Binzel.
Annual voluntary contributions of $5.00 or more in support of the publication are welcome.
Please send a check, drawn on a U.S. bank and payable in U.S. funds, to "Minor Planet Bulletin" and send it to:
Minor Planet Bulletin
c/o Melissa Hayes-Gehrke
UMD Astronomy Department
1113 PSC Bldg 415
College Park, MD 20742
Authors Guide and Word Templates
(v.3.0: updated 2024 February 2)
The ZIP file contains the Authors Guide PDF as well as a "starter" paper in Word 2007+ (DOTX).
Those using Word 97 (DOC/DOT) are encouraged to download
OpenOffice and convert their files to
the most recent Word format (DOCX). Please read this updated guide since there are a number of changes from previous guides.
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.
If the phase reaches an extrema between those dates, put an asterisk before the first value.
For example,
*7.2,13.7.
Use semicolons to separate names in the references section. For example:
Smith, J.J.; Jones, A.A. (2019).
This also applies if using several references to the same author in the text. For example:
"This asteroid was observed at three previous apparitions (Jones, 2015; 2017; 2018)..."
Issues for the upcoming quarter-year are released on about the 21st of March, June, September, and December.
Full issues and individual papers from vol 1 (1973) to present are available via links on this page.
Important: If the ADS bibcode and "Download PDF" links are missing for the latest issue, it is because the ADS has
not processed the files. The links will be made available after the ADS processes the files.
If the "Download PDF" link is visible and there is no PDF available, clicking the link will download an arbitrary
page. We are working with ADS to make sure all papers are available and, if not, being able to diasable the link.
The "Download Full Issue" link does retrieve the correct file.
Vol 1-7 run Jul-Jun. Vol 8-present run Jan-Dec. Only papers indexed in the ADS are included.
Earlier volumes often contain more papers than listed here. It's recommended to download the
full issue in vol 1-9.
On 1992 December 8, the near-Earth asteroid 4179 Toutatis will pass within 0.024 AU of the Earth, a distance of less than 10 times that of the Moon. As reported by Sicoli and Cavagna (MPB _li!, No. 2, page 17), Toutatis will not make an encounter closer than this one until 2004. Thus this apparition marks a good chance for observers to see this small minor planet, estimated to be only about 3 km in diameter. During its close approach, observers who locate Toutatis or capture it on film should be able to detect its motion or record a trail within a few minutes.
Photometric obsetvations of the asteroid 16 Psyche were made during its 1992 apparition using a CCD detector at the NFI Obsetvatory. The synodic rotational period was 4.196 ± 0.005 hrs. The lightcutve amplitude was 0.19 ± 0.02 magnitudes. These results agree well with previous studies.
UBV photometry was performed of 10 Hygiea during nine nights in October, November and December 1992. A composite lightcurve is presented favouring a rotation period of 27.62 hours.
Observing Programs of the Minor Planets Section Circolo Astrofili Di Milano
The Minor Planets Section of Circolo Astrofili di Milano was established In November 1991. It promotes observing programs and research activities for amateur astronomers. It also collaborates with the Minor Planets Sections of the Unione Astrofill Italiani (where I coordinate the visual programs) and the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers. At the moment, our programs include visual astrometry, visual photometry. and photographic astrometry.
Photometric observations of the asteroid 487 Venetia were made during its 1992 apparition using a CCD detector at the NFI Observatory. The synodic rotational period, which was previously unknown, was determined to be 12.73 ± 0.12 hrs. The lightcurve amplitude was 0.30 ± 0.02 magnitudes.
CCD photometry of the asteroid 141 Lumen is reported. The observations indicate a rotation period greater than 18 hours with an amplitude of at least 0.2 magnitudes.
Through the August 13 batch of Minor Planet Circulars, 226 asteroids were newly numbered since the last installment of News Notes, bringing the numbered total to 5297.
The following precise astrometric positions have been measured from photographs obtained by the author. The location of each observing site follows each set. The photographs were measured using the Digitized Stage Microscope, at the University of Washington.
The table below lists asteroids which come to opposition during the months of November through January that represent useful targets for photoelectric photometry observations. ObseiVations are needed because the asteroid has either an unknown or ambiguous rotational period or because the asteroid will be obseiVable at a vety low phase angle.
