paper

On the rotation period and shape of the hyperbolic asteroid 1I/`Oumuamua (2017) U1 from its lightcurve

arXiv:1711.01402 · doi:10.3847/2041-8213/aa9d81

Abstract

We observed the newly discovered hyperbolic minor planet 1I/`Oumuamua (2017 U1) on 2017 October 30 with Lowell Observatory's 4.3-m Discovery Channel Telescope. From these observations, we derived a partial lightcurve with peak-to-trough amplitude of at least 1.2 mag. This lightcurve segment rules out rotation periods less than 3 hr and suggests that the period is at least 5 hr. On the assumption that the variability is due to a changing cross section, the axial ratio is at least 3:1. We saw no evidence for a coma or tail in either individual images or in a stacked image having an equivalent exposure time of 9000 s.

Updated in response to referee's comments. Accepted by ApJL

References in corpus (2)

Cited by in corpus (8)

On the rotation period and shape of the hyperbolic asteroid 1I/`Oumuamua (2017) U1 from its lightcurve · wovepaper