Development and Maintenance of Asteroid Lightcurve Databases

Moredata!, Inc., Rancho Cucamonga CA

Investigators

Abstract

Our Solar System has an extensive population of asteroids, and two of their more fundamental properties are their rotation periods and sizes. From analysis of just these two traits in relation to one another scientists can learn about the evolution of the asteroids as a group, as well as use them as test beds for theories of the formation of the Solar System. In order to determine the rotation periods and sizes of asteroids, scientists measure the changes in light from an asteroid over time, known as making lightcurve observations. This proposal supports the continued maintenance of a database of these lightcurve observations. The database is freely available to scientists to use to address questions about the characteristics of the asteroids and determine what that implies about the formation and evolution of the Solar System. Broader impact activities actively engage backyard astronomers and school/college students, allowing them to make a direct contribution to science while learning the basics of scientific investigation and analysis and building their skills in math and physics. This is accomplished in part by the PI's maintaining observation planning tools and web sites and editing/reviewing papers for the Minor Planet Bulletin that are resources for those communities. Lightcurve observations are important and productive research projects for those with modest aperture (D < 0.5-m) telescopes and high-end commercial CCD cameras. From these observations, it is possible to determine the rotation rate of an asteroid, and with several years of data, it can be possible to model an asteroid's shape and spin axis orientation. This proposal will allow the continuing maintenance of the asteroid lightcurve database (LCDB). The LCDB has become a widely-used and heavily relied-upon tool for those involved in asteroid research. The data from the LCDB will be used for a wide range of research programs such as determining rotation rates among objects of specific size, orbital group, or taxonomic class; the evolution of asteroid rates due to non-gravitational, e.g., thermal, forces; and the population of binary asteroids among different groups. In addition, the PI will provide a central database of raw time-series photometry using the Asteroid Lightcurve Data Exchange Format (ALCDEF) and a web site to be hosted by the Minor Planet Center as part of a larger database of asteroid physical parameters. The ALCDEF database will allow researchers to develop shape and spin axis models. These results can lead to detailed studies regarding the distribution of spin axis poles that can be applied to broader groups of objects and, from there, to theories regarding the evolution of the Solar System.