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.
The moment of closest (angular) approach of an asteroid to a star can be found from a suitable set of positions of the asteroid spaced around the epoch of event. The following is a procedure which allows us to obtain the date of the event and the angles of closest approach and position with respect to the star.
CCD Photometry of Asteroid 347 Pariana at the US Air Force Academy Observatory
CCD photometry of asteroid 347 Pariana taken during January and February 1999 at the US Air Force Academy observatory are reported. A rotational period of 4.05288 ± 0.00012 hours was determined from four nights of observations. The observed lightcurve amplitude was 0.424 ± 0.006 magnitudes.
CCD Photometry of Asteroids at the US Air Force Academy Observatory During 1998
In addition to observations of 583 Klotilde reported earlier (Burtz and Wetterer 1998), six other asteroids (177 Irma, 358 Apollonia, 418 Alemannia, 576 Emanuela, 3687 Dzus, and 4215 Kamo) were observed during 1998 at the US Air Force Academy observatory and the CCD photometry is reported here. These asteroids were observed as part of the ongoing cadet and faculty research on asteroid lightcurves. Periods and amplitudes were determined for Irma (14.4 ± 0.5 hours/ 0.375 ± 0.019 magnitudes) and Alemannia (4.680 ± 0.024 hours/ 0.270 ± 0.008 magnitudes). Best guess period and amplitude limits were found for the others: Apollonia (>24 hours/ >0.04 magnitudes), Emanuela (>26 hours/ >0.1 magnitudes), Dzus (? hours/ (0.02 magnitudes), and Kamo (12.6 ± 1.4 hours/ 0.21 ± 0.03 magnitudes).
Asteroid Photometry at the Palmer Divide Observatory
A description is given of the asteroid photometry program at Palmer Divide Observatory along with results on three asteroids. 1022 Olympiada was found to have a period of 4.589h ± 0.002h and shows an amplitude of approximately 0.27 mag. 1600 Vyssotsky has a likely period of 3.2h ± O.Olh with an amplitude of 0.13 mag. 787 Moskva is found to have a period of 5.381h ± 0.006h and an amplitude of 0.55mag. Two other asteroids, 740 Cantabia and 898 Hildegard appear to show longer (>24 hour) periods, but no determination could be made.
Since the last installment of News Notes, 2291 asteroids have been numbered, crashing through that magical 10000 level, passing the Dow-Jones stock index, and bringing the numbered otal to 11433. Non-main-belt objects among these include:
Asteroid Photometry Opportunities: November-January
The table below lists asteroids that come to opposition during the months of November through January that represent useful targets for photoelectric or CCD photometry observations. Observations are typically needed because the asteroid has either an unknown or ambiguous rotational period. The table gives (in order of opposition dates) the asteroid number and name, opposition date, opposition V magnitude, the rotational period (in hours), the estimated lightcurve amplitude (in magnitudes), and the designation PER if observations are needed to determine the rotational period. AMB implies that previous period determinations have given ambiguous results and these alternate periods are listed in the table. Question marks are used to denote uncertain or unknown values.
