Determination of the light curve of the Rosetta target Asteroid (2867) Steins by the OSIRIS cameras onboard Rosetta

Details Determination of the light curve of the Rosetta target Asteroid (2867) Steins by the OSIRIS cameras onboard Rosetta Determination of the light curve of the Rosetta target Asteroid (2867) Steins by the OSIRIS cameras onboard Rosetta

2006-12-04

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0612097v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

8 pages (incl. online material), 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics letters

Scientific paper

10.1051/0004-6361:20066694

Context: In 2004 asteroid (2867) Steins has been selected as a flyby target for the Rosetta mission. Determination of its spin period and the orientation of its rotation axis are essential for optimization of the flyby planning. Aim: Measurement of the rotation period and light curve of asteroid (2867) Steins at a phase angle larger than achievable from ground based observations, providing a high quality data set to contribute to the determination of the orientation of the spin axis and of the pole direction. Methods: On March 11, 2006, asteroid (2867) Steins was observed continuously for 24 hours with the scientific camera system OSIRIS onboard Rosetta. The phase angle was 41.7 degrees, larger than the maximum phase angle of 30 degrees when Steins is observed from Earth. A total of 238 images, covering four rotation periods without interruption, were acquired. Results: The light curve of (2867) Steins is double peaked with an amplitude of $\approx$ 0.23 mag. The rotation period is 6.052 $\pm$ 0.007 hours. The continuous observations over four rotation periods exclude the possibility of period ambiguities. There is no indication of deviation from a principal axis rotation state. Assuming a slope parameter of G = 0.15, the absolute visual magnitude of Steins is 13.05 $\pm$ 0.03.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Determination of the light curve of the Rosetta target Asteroid (2867) Steins by the OSIRIS cameras onboard Rosetta does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Determination of the light curve of the Rosetta target Asteroid (2867) Steins by the OSIRIS cameras onboard Rosetta, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Determination of the light curve of the Rosetta target Asteroid (2867) Steins by the OSIRIS cameras onboard Rosetta will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-649098