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Radar investigation of asteroids and planetary satellites (Document No: 19890007307)
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Ostro, Steven J. |
| Copyright Year | 1988 |
| Description | The aim is to make radar reconnaissance of near-Earth asteroids, mainbelt ateroids, the Galilean satellites, the Martian satellites, and the largest Saturnian satellites, using the Arecibo 13-cm and the Goldstone 3.5-cm systems. Measurements of echo strength, polarization, and delay/Doppler distribution of echo power provide information about dimensions, spin vector, large-scale topography, cm-to-m-scale morphology, and surface bulk density. The observations also yield refined estimates of target orbital elements. Radar signatures were measured for 31 mainbelt asteroids and 16 near-Earth asteroids since this task began eight years ago. The dispersion in asteroid radar albedoes and circular polarization ratios is extreme, revealing huge differences in surface morphologies, bulk densities, and metal concentration. For the most part, correction between radar signature and VIS/IR class is not high. Many near-Earth asteroids have extremely irregular, nonconvex shapes, but some have polar silhouettes that appear only slightly noncircular. The signatures of 1627 Ivar, 1986 DA, and the approximately 180-km mainbelt asteroid 216 Kleopatra suggest bifurcated shapes. Observational milestones during 1987 and 1988 are noted. |
| File Size | 115169 |
| Page Count | 2 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19890007307 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t07x18r95 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1988-08-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Lunar And Planetary Exploration Polarization Characteristics Albedo Saturn Satellites Topography Asteroids Morphology Radar Surface Properties Radar Signatures Radar Echoes Galilean Satellites Shapes Mars Satellites Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports ServerĀ (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |