Publication Date:
2019-07-12
Description:
R-band observations conducted for 2060 Chiron using CCD photometry in November-December 1986 and March 1988 are discussed. While the 1986 observations exhibit neither periodic nor nonperiodic brightness changes ascribable to comet-like activity, the 1988 observations show an 0.6 + or - 0.1 mag brightening that confirms the Tholen et al. (1988) findings and is consistent with the 1978 electronographic photometry presented. The lightcurve amplitudes appear, however, to have remained unchanged from 1978 to 1988, and the image profiles from 1978 are indistinguishable from the stars in 1986 and 1988. It is suggested that Chiron has either been varying nonasteroidally of late, on a 1-2 month timescale, or its intrinsic brightness has been bistable over the past decade.
Keywords:
ASTRONOMY
Type:
Icarus (ISSN 0019-1035); 77; 223-238
Format:
text
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