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.
CCD observations in V, R, and I of the asteroid 480 Hansa were made at the NFI Observatory during its 1993 apparition. The synodic rotational period was found to be 16.22 ± 0.08 hours, assuming a lightcurve with 2 maxima per rotation. The lightcurve amplitude was 0.39 ± 0.02 mag.
Photographic positions of six asteroids were obtained from 17 exposures taken at Asociacion Argentina Amigos de la Astronomia (AAAA). Mean standard deviations of ±1.012 arcsec in R.A. and of ± 0.927 arcsec in Declination were derived for the positions calculated. These results were incorporated into a larger astrometric program which is being developed at Observatorio Astronomico de Mercedes.
Visual photometry observations of asteroid 23 Thalia were made during January and February 1994. The lightcurve obtained is similar to previous photoelectric results.
It is with great satisfaction that we note the continuing increase in contributions of amateur astrometric measurements of minor planets. For the purpose of routinely handling these observations and to help maximize their scientific value, we communicate the following recommendations made in the 1994 July 22 Minor Planet Circulars
The table below lists asteroids that come to opposition during the months of November through January which represent useful targets for photoelectric photometry observations. Observations are needed because the asteroid has either an unknown or ambiguous rotational period or because the asteroid will be observable at a very low phase angle.
