Biomedical subjects

J L Margot

Publications and source records attributed to J L Margot.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

A low-density M-type asteroid in the main belt.

The orbital parameters of a satellite revolving around 22 Kalliope indicate that the bulk density of this main-belt asteroid is 2.37 +/- 0.4 grams per cubic centimeter. M-type asteroids such as Kalliope are thought to be the disrupted metallic cores of differentiated bodies. The low-density indicates that Kalliope cannot be predominantly composed of metal and may be composed of chondritic material with approximately 30% porosity. The satellite orbit is circular, suggesting that Kalliope and its satellite have different internal structures and tidal dissipation rates. The satellite may be an aggregate of impact ejecta from an earlier collision with Kalliope.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Binary asteroids in the near-Earth object population.

Radar images of near-Earth asteroid 2000 DP107 show that it is composed of an approximately 800-meter-diameter primary and an approximately 300-meter-diameter secondary revolving around their common center of mass. The orbital period of 1.755 +/- 0.007 days and semimajor axis of 2620 +/- 160 meters constrain the total mass of the system to 4.6 +/- 0.5 x 10(11) kilograms and the bulk density of the primary to 1.7 +/- 1.1 grams per cubic centimeter. This system and other binary near-Earth asteroids have spheroidal primaries spinning near the breakup point for strengthless bodies, suggesting that the binaries formed by spin-up and fission, probably as a result of tidal disruption during close planetary encounters. About 16% of near-Earth asteroids larger than 200 meters in diameter may be binary systems.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Asteroid 1950 DA's encounter with Earth in 2880: physical limits of collision probability prediction.

Integration of the orbit of asteroid (29075) 1950 DA, which is based on radar and optical measurements spanning 51 years, reveals a 20-minute interval in March 2880 when there could be a nonnegligible probability of the 1-kilometer object colliding with Earth. Trajectory knowledge remains accurate until then because of extensive astrometric data, an inclined orbit geometry that reduces in-plane perturbations, and an orbit uncertainty space modulated by gravitational resonance. The approach distance uncertainty in 2880 is determined primarily by uncertainty in the accelerations arising from thermal re-radiation of solar energy absorbed by the asteroid. Those accelerations depend on the spin axis, composition, and surface properties of the asteroid, so that refining the collision probability may require direct inspection by a spacecraft.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Topography of the lunar poles from radar interferometry: a survey of cold trap locations.

Detailed topographic maps of the lunar poles have been obtained by Earth-based radar interferometry with the 3.5-centimeter wavelength Goldstone Solar System Radar. The interferometer provided maps 300 kilometers by 1000 kilometers of both polar regions at 150-meter spatial resolution and 50-meter height resolution. Using ray tracing, these digital elevation models were used to locate regions that are in permanent shadow from solar illumination and may harbor ice deposits. Estimates of the total extent of shadowed areas poleward of 87.5 degrees latitude are 1030 and 2550 square kilometers for the north and south poles, respectively.

Ice↗