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Margot, J. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Margot, J. L..

Direct detection of the Yarkovsky effect by radar ranging to ateroid 6489 Golevka

Radar ranging from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, to the 0.5-kilometer near-Earth asteroid 6489 Golevka unambiguously reveals a small nongravitational acceleration caused by the anisotropic thermal emission of absorbed sunlight. The magnitude of this perturbation, known as the Yarkovsky effect, is a function of the asteroid's mass and surface thermal characteristics. Direct detection of the Yarkovsky effect on asteroids will help constrain their physical properties, such as bulk density, and refine their orbital paths.

asteriod mass radar orbital paths↗

Radar Discovery and Characterization of Binary Near-Earth Asteroids

The radar instruments at Arecibo and Goldstone recently provided the first confirmed discoveries of binary asteroids in the near-Earth population. The physical and orbital properties of four near-Earth binary systems are described in detail. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Margot, J. L.↗

The Surface of Titan: Arecibo Radar Observations

The Arecibo 12.6 cm radar system was used to observe Titan in 1999, 2000 and 2001. The mean value of the radar albedo is 0.16 and the polarization ratio is 0.35. For some longitudes the echo has a specular component although most of the echo power is contained in a diffuse component. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Campbell, D. B.↗

Geological interpretations of the topography of selected regions of Venus from Arecibo to Goldstone radar interferometry

We report on the geological interpretation of the mapping analysis of several successful radar experiments, which are part of a program to generate a high resolution digital elevation model (DEM) of the equatorial region of Venus between Phoebe Regio and far western Ovda Regio. These experiments used radar interferometry with Arecibo transmitting and Goldstone receiving.

Venus↗

Radar Observations of Binary Asteroid 2000 DP107

We present the discovery and characterization of DP107 with the Goldstone and Arecibo radars, including a detailed sequence of images showing the system's orbital motion. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Margot, J. L.↗

Radar Techniques for the Measurement of Mercury's Obliquity and Librations

Evidence for a global magnetic field at Mercury has raised perplexing questions regarding the existence and nature of the planet's core. The problems related to Mercury's core are of great interest because of their implications on how planets evolve thermally and on how they generate magnetic fields. Peale showed that the measurement of four quantities could place constraints on the size and state of Mercury's core. The required parameters in Peale's experiment are the C(sub 20) and C(sub 22) coefficients in the spherical harmonic expansion of the gravity field, the planet's obliquity theta, and the amplitude phi of the forced libration in longitude. While the gravitational harmonics are best determined from an orbiting spacecraft, Earth-based radar observations may provide refined estimates of the obliquity and amplitude of the libration. We describe several techniques and attempt to quantify their potential for the proposed measurements. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

Margot, J. L.↗