Radar Observations of Asteroid 1620 Geographos

• Published in: Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962) Vol. 121; no. 1; pp. 46 - 66
• Main Authors: Ostro, Steven J., Jurgens, Raymond F., Rosema, Keith D., Hudson, R.Scott, Giorgini, Jon D., Winkler, Ron, Yeomans, Donald K., Choate, Dennis, Rose, Randy, Slade, Martin A., Howard, S.Denise, Scheeres, Daniel J., Mitchell, David L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Headquarters Elsevier Inc 01.05.1996; Academic Press, Inc
• Subjects: Astrophysics
• ISSN: 0019-1035; 1090-2643
• DOI: 10.1006/icar.1996.0071

Goldstone radar observations of Geographos from August 28 through September 2, 1994 yield over 400 delay-Doppler images whose linear spatial resolutions range from ∼75 to ∼151 m, and 138 pairs of dual-polarization (OC, SC) spectra with one-dimensional resolution of 103 m. Each data type provides thorough rotational coverage. The images contain an intrinsic north/south ambiguity, but the equatorial view allows accurate determination of the shape of the radar-facing part of the asteroid's pole-on silhouette at any rotation phase. Sums of co-registered images that cover nearly a full rotation have defined the extremely elongated shape of that silhouette (S. J. Ostro, K. D. Rosema, R. S. Hudson, R. F. Jurgens, J. D. Giorgini, R. Winkler, D. K. Yeomans, D. Choate, R. Rose, M. A. Slade, S. D. Howard, and D. L. Mitchell 1995,Nature375, 474–477). Here we present individual images and co-registered sums over ∼30° of rotation phase that show the silhouette's structural characteristics in finer detail and also reveal numerous contrast features “inside” the silhouette. Those features include several candidate craters as well as indications of other sorts of large-scale topographic relief, including a prominent central indentation. Protuberances at the asteroid's ends may be related to the pattern of ejecta removal and deposition caused by the asteroid's gravity field. The asteroid's surface is homogeneous and displays only modest roughness at centimeter-to-meter scales. Our estimates of radar cross section and the currently available constraints on the asteroid's dimensions are consistent with a near-surface bulk density between 2 and 3 g cm−3. The delay-Doppler trajectory of Geographos' center of mass has been determined to about 200 m on August 28 and to about 100 m on August 31, an improvement of two orders of magnitude over pre-observation ephemerides.