Statistics – Computation
Scientific paper
Sep 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996dps....28.1040h&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #28, #10.40; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 28, p.1105
Statistics
Computation
Scientific paper
Radar observations of Toutatis during 2 through 19 December 1992 at Goldstone and Arecibo (Science 270 80--83, 1995) permitted reconstruction of that object's shape and non-principal-axis (NPA) spin state, including its full inertia tensor to within a multiplicative constant (Science 270 84--86, 1995). Those results and a Hapke photometric model are consistent with 1992 lightcurves (Spencer et al., Icarus 117 71--89, 1995) that sampled solar phase angles between 0.2deg and 121deg . To within the uncertainties of the current physical model there is no evidence of inhomogeneity in Toutatis's density. Goldstone delay-Doppler observations scheduled for 1996 will span nine days (25 November through 3 December) with transmit windows of between two and six hours per day. Image signal-to-noise ratio will be somewhat less than in 1992 but spatial resolution should be comparable. Additionally, if the upgraded Arecibo radar is operational, it may be able to obtain images with sub-decameter range resolution. 1996 observations can expand the time base for spin-state computation from a few weeks to four years. We will present simulations detailing how this extended time base should allow the precision of the spin-state/inertia-tensor parameters to be improved by as much as two orders of magnitude and thereby offer a much more sensitive test for the presence of inhomogeneities within Toutatis. It is likely that future observations of asteroids and comets will discover more NPA rotators. Given the complexities an NPA spin state can introduce into modeling observed data, computer animations can be an important aid in scientific analysis. Additionally, these visualizations have educational and aesthetic aspects that can be used as powerful tools for communicating the excitement of planetary science to the general public, e.g., renderings of the celestial sphere and star trails as seen from the surface of Toutatis.
Hudson Raymond Scott
Ostro Steven J.
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