Determining the Lightcurves and Rotational Periods of Four Main Belt Asteroids

Author

Kaitlyn Kalisek

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Date of Award

Spring 2024

Abstract

This research found lightcurves and rotational periods of four main belt asteroids, 2854 Rawson, 5142 Okutama, (14362) 1988 MH, and 28248 Barthelemy. The A&M-Commerce observatory 0.7 meter telescope equipped with a CCD camera was used to collect multiple nights of data for each asteroid which was then analyzed to determine the asteroid’s lightcurve, rotational period, and create a possible 3D model. The rotational periods were found to be 4.775 ± 0.001 h for 2854 Rawson, 3.803 ± 0.001 h for 5142 Okutama, 3.645 ± 0.001 h for (14362) 1988 MH, and 3.128 ± 0.002 h for 28248 Barthelemy.

Advisor

Kent Montgomery

Recommended Citation

Kalisek, Kaitlyn, "Determining the Lightcurves and Rotational Periods of Four Main Belt Asteroids" (2024). Honors Theses. 233.
https://lair.etamu.edu/honorstheses/233