Related papers: Variegation and space weathering on asteroid 21 Lu…
We explore the use of spectro-polarimetry as a remote sensing tool for asteroids in addition to traditional reflectance measurements. In particular we are interested in possible relationships between the wavelength-dependent variation of…
There is a great deal of scientific interest in characterizing the basaltic asteroids (spectrally classified as V-types), as they are the key to understanding planetesimal formation and evolution in the early Solar System. These have long…
Optical phase curves of hot Jupiters can reveal global scattering properties. We implement a Bayesian inference framework for optical phase curves with flux contributions from: reflected light from a potentially inhomogeneous atmosphere,…
We report on 224 photometric measurements of Nereid, a small outer satellite of Neptune. Our photometry covers 64 nights from 1987 to 1997 and is primarily in the V-band; we also have 20 measurements in the U, B, R, and I bands. (1) Nereid…
Scattering and absorption properties at optical and ultraviolet wavelengths are calculated for an interstellar dust model consisting of carbonaceous grains and amorphous silicate grains. Polarization as a function of scattering angle is…
We present HST Faint Object Camera observations of the asteroid 1 Ceres at near-, mid-, and far-UV wavelengths (lambda = 3636, 2795, and 1621 A, respectively) obtained on 1995 June 25. The disk of Ceres is well-resolved for the first time,…
The obliquity of a terrestrial planet is an important clue about its formation and critical to its climate. Previous studies using simulated photometry of Earth show that continuous observations over most of a planet's orbit can be inverted…
Broad-band exoplanet transit photometry can characterize the planetary atmosphere when observed at multiple selected filters. This observing technique can reveal gradients in the spectra of extrasolar planets, for example the slope of…
BL Lacertae objects are an extreme subclass of AGNs showing rapid and large-amplitude variability, high and variable polarization, and core-dominated radio emissions. If a strong beaming effect is the cause of the extreme observation…
Space weathering is the generic term used for processes that modify the optical properties of surfaces of atmosphereless rocky bodies under exposure to the space environment. The general agreement about the relevance of the effects of space…
Vesta, the second largest Main Belt asteroid, will be the first to be explored in 2011 by NASA's Dawn mission. It is a dry, likely differentiated body with spectrum suggesting that is has been resurfaced by basaltic lava flows, not too…
Unmixing the disk-integrated spectra of exoplanets provides hints about heterogeneous surfaces that we cannot directly resolve in the foreseeable future. It is particularly important for terrestrial planets with diverse surface compositions…
We analyzed the surface of Vesta at visible wavelengths, using the data of the Visible and InfraRed mapping spectrometer (VIR) on board the Dawn spacecraft. We mapped the variations of various spectral parameters on the entire surface of…
Here we present additional photometry of targets observed as part of the Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 Test of Surfaces in the Outer Solar System. 12 targets were re-observed with the Wide Field Camera 3 in optical and NIR wavebands designed…
We have investigated the effect of rotation on the polarization of scattered light for the near-Earth asteroid (1943) Anteros using the Dual Beam Imaging Polarimeter on the University of Hawaii's 2.2 m telescope. Anteros is an L-type…
Recent Kepler photometry has revealed that about half of white dwarfs (WDs) have periodic, low-level (~ 1e-4 - 1e-3), optical variations. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ultraviolet spectroscopy has shown that up to about one half of WDs are…
The surface of Europa is geologically young and shows signs of current activity. Studying it from a photometric point of view gives us insight on its physical state. We used a collection of 57 images from Voyager's Imaging Science System…
The optical/ultraviolet (UV) variability of quasars has been discovered to be correlated with other quasar properties, such as luminosity, black hole mass and rest-frame wavelength. However,the origin of variability has been a puzzle so…
During its departure from Pluto, New Horizons used its LORRI camera to image a portion of Pluto's southern hemisphere that was in a decades-long seasonal winter darkness, but still very faintly illuminated by sunlight reflected by Charon.…
PKS 2155-304 is the only BL Lac object for which well-sampled multiwavelength light curves resolve the intraday variability at UV and X-ray wavelengths. In particular we focus on the multifrequency campaign of November 1991, which showed a…