Radar observations of Itokawa in 2004 and improved shape estimation

— We present June 2004 radar images of asteroid 25143 Itokawa (1998 SF36) that improve upon the longitude‐latitude coverage of images obtained in 2001 by Ostro et al. (2004) and use the 2001–2004 data to refine that paper's constraints on Itokawa's shape. The 2004 images, the first of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Meteoritics & planetary science 2005-11, Vol.40 (11), p.1563-1574
Main Authors: Ostro, Steven J., Benner, Lance A. M., Magri, Christopher, Giorgini, Jon D., Rose, Randy, Jurgens, Raymond F., Yeomans, Donald K., Hine, Alice A., Nolan, Michael C., Scheeres, Daniel J., Broschart, Stephen B., Kaasalainen, Mikko, Margot, Jean-Luc
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asteroids
Asymmetry
Ellipsoids
Latitude
Leading edges
Radar
Three dimensional models
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Summary:— We present June 2004 radar images of asteroid 25143 Itokawa (1998 SF36) that improve upon the longitude‐latitude coverage of images obtained in 2001 by Ostro et al. (2004) and use the 2001–2004 data to refine that paper's constraints on Itokawa's shape. The 2004 images, the first of the asteroid's southern side, look distinctly different from the 2001 images, revealing leading edges that are much more curved and rugged than the nearly convex leading edges seen at northern latitudes in 2001. Itokawa is shaped like a slightly asymmetrical, bent, lumpy ellipsoid with dimensions along the principal axes within 10% of 594 times 320 times 288 m. To illustrate the uncertainty space associated with shape reconstruction from images with suboptimal orientational coverage, we present two alternative three‐dimensional models of the object.
ISSN:1086-9379
1945-5100
DOI:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2005.tb00131.x