Ellipsoids and lightcurves
type: Item
instance of: scholarly article
title: Ellipsoids and lightcurves
zbMATH Open document ID: 0574.51028
DOI: 10.1007/BF00181521
author: Robert Connelly
author: Steven J. Ostro
published in: Geometriae Dedicata
publication date: 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z
review text: The authors deal with the problem to determine the shape of a rotating asteroid from its lightcurve (brightness-versus-time function). For simplicity the following assumptions are made: 1) The shape of the asteroid is approximated by an ellipsoid. 2) The asteroid is rotating about its smallest axis. 3) Its brightness is proportional to its visible illuminated area projected on a plane orthogonal to its straight connection with the Earth. Then the relation between the asteroid's shape and its lightcurve is a problem of analytic geometry. The main theorems of this paper give a solution to this problem.
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 51N20
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 70F15
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 85A04
zbMATH DE Number: 3917129
zbMATH Keywords: asteroid
zbMATH Keywords: lightcurve
zbMATH Keywords: ellipsoid
zbMATH Keywords: area
reviewed by: Bernd Wegner
MaRDI profile type: Publication
full work available at URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00181521
OpenAlex ID: W1977292409
description: scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3917129