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Publications and source records attributed to Bowell, E..
Predictions, based on a computerized comparison of asteroid ephemerides with the catalog positions of 567,500 stars, are given for 155 occultations of stars by asteroids in 1995 and 1996. On average, the predictions are expected to be more accurate than in earlier searches because of the use of more modern star catalogs. A number of very favorable occultations, visible in North America and elsewhere, are discussed.
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Theoretical models of light-curve inversion that can be used in photomorphography, i.e., determination of the 3D shape and/or the light-scattering behavior of the surface of a body from disk-integrated photometry. These methods can be applied to atmosphereless bodies, mainly asteroids and planetary satellites, in the solar system. The inversion comprises three steps. First, a function containing data on the shape and the albedo variegation of an asteroid is determined. In the second step, separate expressions for the inverse of the Gaussian curvature and the albedo distribution are derived from the information obtained in the first step. In the third step, the nontrivial problem of determining the radius vector of the surface from the Gaussian curvature is solved by using iterative optimization procedures.
Photoelectric lightcurve observations in the V band, together with estimates of the mean and maximum reduced magnitudes, are presented for 59 different asteroids; 15 new or significantly revised periods are reported. While fits are generally good for objects with moderate phase-relation slope, poor quality fits remain among the highest and lowest albedo objects studied in virtue of their respectively shallow and steep sloping-phase curves.
A new and general method is presented for determining pole orientations of unresolved solar system bodies that exhibit brightness variation with rotation. The accuracy of the method is limited only by the number of available apparitions, which imposes the degree where the Legendre expansion must be truncated. It is shown that power spectra of lightcurves provide enough information to extract pole coordinates from the data, independent of body shape and albedo variegation. The method has been tested using several computer-generated synthetic light-curves, and the accuracy is found to be about 5 deg in both the longitude and latitude of the pole, which is considerably better than that obtained from the standard triaxial ellipsoid model. Finally, the new spherical harmonics method has been applied to six well-observed asteroids: 16 Psyche, 22 Kalliope, 39 Laetitia, 44 Nysa, 45 Eugenia, and 349 Dembowska.
Predictions are given for occultations of catalog stars by asteroids, planets, Titan, and Triton in 1990 and 1991. The predictions are based on a computerized comparison of the occulting bodies' ephemerides and nine major star catalogs. The search is complete for all numbered asteroids whose angular diameters exceed 0.08 arcsec during the search years. Preliminary ground tracks are shown for the more favorable occultations.
Observations of the September 16, 1984 occultation of SAO 146599 by the C-type asteroid 47 Aglaja from 13 sites in the continental U.S. have yielded a diameter of 136.4 + or - 1.2 km, leading to the calculation of a rotational period of 13.2 + or - 0.01 hr. At the time of the occultation, the zero-phase-angle visual geometric albedo of the asteroid's phase was 0.071 + or - 0.002. It is suggested that a substantial portion of the object's mean brightness variation with ecliptic longitude is ascribable to albedo differences over its surface.
The occultation of AG+40 deg 0783 by 324 Bamberga on 8 December 1987 was observed at 13 sites in the United States, Japan, and China. At four sites the event was observed photoelectrically; the other observations were visual. A least-squares fit of a circular limb profile to the data gives a diameter of 227.6 + or - 1.9 km. However, this solution is inconsistent with a negative visual observation near the northern edge of the ground track. The inconsistency cannot be removed by assuming an elliptical profile. The data suggest that Bamberga, despite its low-amplitude lightcurve, may depart significantly from a spherical or ellipsoidal shape. The asteroid also appears to be at least 10 percent smaller than indicated by infrared radiometry.
Light curves and phase curves have been computed for various asteroid models using the Lumme-Bowell (1981) scattering law. The effects of the scattering parameters on light curves were found to be almost negligible for homogeneous surfaces. The effects on phase curves were more distinct, but changing any of the scattering parameters affects the phase curves in a very similar way, making it impossible to find a unique set of parameter values corresponding to a given phase curve. Light curve amplitudes, on the other hand, depend very strongly on body shape. At least in the case of a triaxial ellipsoid it is possible to determine the axial ratios. Some observed irregularities of light curves can also be modelled easily, but the uniqueness of such models is far from obvious.
Observations of the five asteroids designated 3 Juno, 24 Themis, 60 Echo, 261 Prymo, and 863 Benkoela over the 1978-1984 period have been subjected to Fourier analysis to obtain composite lightcurves. The method yields a rotation-period value, mean absolute magnitudes for each night of observation, and Fourier coefficients that define composite-lightcurve shape, with formal error estimates for all quantities. The first three of the asteroids listed exhibit significant variation in surface albedo.
After a summary of the increasing activity in steroid discovery during the past few years, the importance of carefully thought out observing strategy is discussed, in particular with regard to target selection, observing frequency, and the time distribution of observations. Problems of cataloging and orbit linkage are outlined, inasmuch as they affect individual observers and orbit computers, as well as the work of the Minor Planet Center. There is some discussion of appropriate two-way communication between observers and the Minor Planet Center.
The occultation of AG+40 deg 0783 by 324 Bamberga on 8 December 1987 was observed at 13 sites in the United States, Japan, and China. At four sites the event was observed photoelectrically; the other observations were visual. A least-squares fit of a circular limb profile to the data gives a diameter of 227.6 + or - 1.9 km. However, this solution is inconsistent with a negative visual observation near the northern edge of the ground track. The inconsistency cannot be removed by assuming an elliptical profile. The data suggest that Bamberga, despite its low-amplitude lightcurve, may depart significantly from a spherical or ellipsoidal shape. The asteroid also appears to be at least 10 percent smaller than indicated by infrared radiometry.
Predictions are given for 102 occultations of stars by minor planets occurring in 1988 and 1989. The predictions are based on a computerized comparison of asteroid ephemerides with star positions given in eight major astrometric catalogs. The search is completed for all numbered asteroids whose orbits are accurately known and that reach an angular diameter of at least 0.08 arcsec during the search years. Preliminary information sufficient for planning is given for each occultation.
The multiple-scattering theory of K. Lumme and E. Bowell (1981) was criticized by B. Hapke by stating, in particular, that energy is not conserved. It is shown that Hapke's treatment is, in this respect, inferior to that of Lumme and Bowell, and itself violates the principal concepts of radiative transfer theory. Hapke's additinal claim that, in Lumme and Bowell's work, the reflectance tends to zero at the limb is also refuted. Comment is made on the deduction of surface physical properties by modeling photometric observations.
Results are presented of a search for upcoming asteroid occultations involving stars in six major astrometric catalogs containing a total of approximately 326,000 individual stars. Within stated constraints on solar elongation, asteroid angular diameter, orbit quality, and occultation duration, the search is complete for all numbered asteroids. Circumstances of 74 occultations occurring in 1986 and 59 in 1987 are described.
UBV photometric observations of the M asteroid 69 Hesperia, obtained using single-channel photometers on the 31-in. and 42-in. reflectors at Lowell Observatory and on the 24-in. reflector at Mauna Kea Observatory during the apparition of August-November 1977, are reported. The data are presented in tables and graphs and analyzed. Findings presented include minimal temporal or phase-angle-dependent light-curve fluctuations, evidence for large-scale albedo variegation of a few percent, synodic rotation period 5.65537 + or - 0.00064 h, zero-phase color indices B-V = 0.68 mag and U-B = 0.24 mag, B-V phase reddening 0.003 mag/deg, and absolute zero-phase primary maximum magnitude V = 7.04.
A number of optical and physical parameters are derived on the basis of ground-based, spacecraft, and rocket photometry and polarimetry, under the assumption that number density, mean particle size, and albedo, vary with heliocentric distance. It is noted that average individual interplanetary particles have a small but definite opposition effect, involving a single scattering albedo in the V-band and a zero-phase geometric albedo; modeled by a power law, both decrease with increasing heliocentric distance as r to the -0.54 power. The color of dust particles and the color's variation with solar phase angle, closely resemble those of C asteroids. These findings are consistent with the zodiacal cloud's origin in collisions among asteroids.
The occultation of AG + 29 deg 398 by 93 Minerva on 22 November 1982 was successfully observed at 10 sites. The data are best fitted by a circular limb profile having a diameter of 170.8 + or - 1.4 km, a value that agrees well with the published radiometric diameter for this asteroid. However, evidence of significant departure from a spherical shape is found in the occultation observations and in photometric measurements of Minerva made at Lowell Observatory over several months. Additional observations are needed to specify definitively the three-dimensional figure of Minerva.