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Infrared Observations of Asteroids*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

Dennis L. Matson*
Affiliation:
California Institute of Technology

Abstract

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This paper is a brief preliminary report about a program of reconnaissance photometry designed to study the thermal radiation emitted from asteroids. Observations of thermal radiation, and their subsequent interpretation, can provide new knowledge that presently cannot be gained by any other method. The emitted thermal power is by and large that portion of the insolation which is absorbed. Part of the asteroid’s emission spectrum can be observed through windows in Earth’s atmosphere. With the aid of models for the details of energy transfer at the asteroid’s surface, and accurate visual photometry, reliable estimates can be made for some of the important parameters in the models. Of particular interest are Bond albedo, size, emissivity, and thermal inertia.

Type
Part I-Observations
Copyright
Copyright © NASA 1971

Footnotes

*

This paper is contribution no. 2039 of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences.

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