Asteroid (216) Kleopatra: Tests of the radar-derived shape model

• Published in: Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin) 2002-09, Vol.392 (2), p.729-733
• Main Authors: Hestroffer, D., Berthier, J., Descamps, P., Tanga, P., Cellino, A., Lattanzi, M., Di Martino, M., Zappalà, V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astrophysics; Physics; Sciences of the Universe
• ISSN: 0004-6361; 1432-0746; 1432-0756
• DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20021006

The shape model of Ostro et al. (\cite{ostro00}) for (216) Kleopatra - obtained from inversion of the radar data (Hudson & Ostro \cite{hudson94}) - is compared to the high resolution interferometric observations of the HST/FGS astrometer, and additionally to observed lightcurves and stellar occultations data. It appears that the radar nominal-model, while being in global agreement with these data, doesn't adequately reproduce all of them. In particular the flattening seems to be underestimated by ~ 20%. The HST/FGS observations should provide valuable constraints for determining a more refined shape model, since the model obtained from the radar data alone is subject to some uncertainty. Such a refined model of Kleopatra should provide valuable insights for explaining the formation of this interesting object, and the formation and evolution of binary asteroids in general.