DPS 2010, abstracts posted Options

[ngunn]

Not sure when these appeared, but I've only just found them. Here's a first try at the link:
http://www.abstractsonline.com/plan/Browse.aspx

That worked when I first tried it but now it doesn't. Here's another: http://dps.aas.org/meetings/2010/

From that one you need to go "science program" then "browse" to get to the sessions and abstracts.

[maschnitz]

I had a question about the 20000 Varuna results presented, for those with access to the paper or who were there.

Do the results conclusively nail down the ellipsoidal shape?

(Also, if it doesn't, what will? Or is that a "done deal" already?)

It struck me the other day: Haumea is always presented visually as ellipsoidal, but you almost never see Varuna presented so. I'm guessing that's due to a difference in evidence?

[alan]

I had a question about the 20000 Varuna results presented, for those with access to the paper or who were there.

Found this on twitter:

"Sicardy: Varuna occultation. Diameter 660-1130 km."

I thought those might actually be the major and minor axis as the abstract included this:

The Sao Luis occultation has a duration of 52.5 +/- 0.5 sec, corresponding to a chord length of 1003 +/- 9 km projected in the plane of the sky. No atmospheric signature is apparent in the light curve. Since the closest observation to Sao Luis is negative at a transversal distance of 225 km (Quixada, CCD), a significantly elongated shape is required for Varuna.

I sent Bruno Sicardy an email to determine which was the case and got this in reply:

thanks for your interest in this matter. The limits 660-1130 km are for Varuna's major axis. The ratio minor/major axis should be around 0.5. Now, we have to work more on our observations, as there are other, independent measurements that might help reducing the range of error. We are trying to write a paper asap on that.