Opposition polarimetry and photometry of S- and E-type asteroids

The first results of the observational program devoted to simultaneous investigation of asteroid polarimetric and photometric opposition phenomena are presented. UBVRI polarimetric and V-band photometric observations of the S-type Asteroid 20 Massalia and the E-type Asteroids 214 Aschera and 620 Dra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962) Vol. 166; no. 2; pp. 276 - 284
Main Authors:	Belskaya, Irina N, Shevchenko, Vasilij G, Kiselev, Nikolaj N, Krugly, Yurij N, Shakhovskoy, Nikolaj M, Efimov, Yurij S, Gaftonyuk, Ninel M, Cellino, Alberto, Gil-Hutton, Ricardo
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier Inc 01-12-2003
Subjects:	Asteroids Backscattering Opposition effect Photometry Polarimetry Polarimetry Opposition effect Asteroids Backscattering Photometry
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	The first results of the observational program devoted to simultaneous investigation of asteroid polarimetric and photometric opposition phenomena are presented. UBVRI polarimetric and V-band photometric observations of the S-type Asteroid 20 Massalia and the E-type Asteroids 214 Aschera and 620 Drakonia were carried out in 1996–1999 down to phase angles of 0.08°, 0.7°, and 1.2°, correspondingly. The S-type Asteroid 20 Massalia is characterized by the pronounced brightness opposition surge with an amplitude larger than that observed for the E-type asteroids. A sharp peak of negative polarization at small phase angles was not observed for this asteroid. The value of polarization degree at phase angle α<1° is less than 0.5% for both S and E types. The negative polarization branches of S and especially E-asteroids have an asymmetrical shape. The phase angle at which the polarization minimum occurs is close to the angle at which non-linear increase begins in the asteroid magnitude phase curves. A relation of the observed effects to the mechanism of coherent backscattering is discussed.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0019-1035 1090-2643
DOI:	10.1016/j.icarus.2003.09.005