| Asteroid
Light Curves
 During
the months of September and October 2003, students in the Advanced Astronomical
Laboratory course, under the supervision of Dr. Robert Mutel, observed
seventeen asteroids using the Rigel telescope
at multiple epochs to determine their rotation periods. The results
were submitted to the CALL
website and a research paper
(PDF) (Word)
was submitted to the Minor
Planet Bulletin. Click on the plot at right for a larger image.
Movies
We created the following sample movies as animated gifs from some of
our observations.
Asteroid 228 (Agathe) - Two asteroids visible! (9
MB)
Asteroid 354 (Eleonora) (7 MB)
Asteroid 373 (Melusina) (8 MB)
Asteroid 575 (Renate) (9 MB)
Asteroid 1171 (Rusthawelia) (14 MB)
Tables
Table
1. Asteroid Periods: Summary of Results
|
Asteroid |
Team |
Period
(+/-) |
Amplitude |
Composite
Light Curve |
Comments |
| 174 |
E |
5.75 ± 0.002 |
0.42
– 0.60 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
known period |
| 228 |
E |
6.47
± 0.01 |
0.30 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
|
| 342 |
C |
7.05 ± 0.01 |
0.14 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
|
| 354 |
C |
4.277
± 0.002 |
0.18 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
known period |
| 365 |
D |
6.354 ± 0.001 |
0.16 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
asymmetric |
| 373 |
B |
12.97 ± 0.01 |
0.12 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
|
| 575 |
D |
3.687 ± 0.001 |
0.19 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
known period |
| 707 |
C |
24
(uncertain) |
0.15
(?) |
(PS)
(jpg) |
poor data |
| 1084 |
A |
6.19 ± 0.02 |
0.33 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
known period |
| 1171 |
A |
10.98
± 0.01 |
0.29 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
|
| 1388 |
C |
11.95
± 0.01 |
0.43 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
|
| 1416 |
B |
4.2
± 0.1 |
0.1 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
known period |
| 1501 |
A |
15.25
± 0.01 |
0.28 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
|
| 1544 |
C |
13.7
± 0.01 |
0.18 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
very noisy |
|
1645 |
D |
4.87 ± 0.01 |
0.23 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
*also worked by Andy Monson |
|
1799 |
D |
6.325 ± 0.001 |
0.32 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
|
| 2097 |
E |
7.31 ± 0.005 |
0.35 |
(PS)
(jpg) |
|
Table 2. Observing Log
| Asteroid |
Team |
Sample Image |
Epoch |
UT Range |
N |
Rmag |
Filter |
Dur |
Comments |
| 174 |
E |
174.jpg |
1-Oct-03 |
03:13 – 11:02 |
84 |
12.6 |
R |
15 |
|
|
11-Oct-03 |
04:42 – 10:03 |
38 |
12.8 |
R |
30 |
Moon interference |
|
15-Oct-03 |
02:24 – 10:52 |
49 |
12.9 |
R |
30 |
|
|
16-Oct-03 |
02:09 – 11:20 |
38 |
13.1 |
R |
30 |
|
| 17-Oct-03 |
01:44 – 10:32 |
54 |
13.1 |
R |
30 |
|
|
228 |
E |
228.jpg |
16-Oct-03 |
02:06 – 11:35 |
39 |
13.5 |
R |
30 |
|
|
17-Oct-03 |
01:57 – 11:46 |
60 |
13.4 |
R |
30 |
|
| 21-Oct-03 |
02:37 – 06:07 |
38 |
13.6 |
R |
30 |
|
|
342 |
C |
342.jpg |
13-Oct-03 |
01:51 - 12:00 |
62 |
12.6 |
R |
30 |
Moon
glare |
|
14-Oct-03 |
01:46 – 12:05 |
62 |
12.5 |
R |
30 |
|
|
16-Oct-03 |
02:12 – 11:10 |
27 |
12.8 |
R |
15 |
|
| 19-Oct-03 |
02:21 – 11:51 |
58 |
12.8 |
R |
30 |
|
|
354 |
C |
354.jpg |
1-Oct-03 |
04:44 – 09:03 |
21 |
11.2 |
R |
15 |
Known
period |
|
2-Oct-03 |
02:29 – 09:05 |
37 |
11 |
R |
30 |
|
|
13-Oct-03 |
| 
