A Comparison of Photometry Methods Using Data from Asteroids 343 Ostara and 807 Ceraskia.

Abstract

Asteroids spin on their axis and this spinning changes the amount of light seen at Earth. In order to study this change in light, photometry of multiple images of the asteroid is used. Along with these images, special images are needed to get rid of thermal noise and account for differing pixel sensitivity. The corrected images are then used to create a lightcurve. Two of these methods, differential and absolute photometry, are discussed using data from 807 Ceraskia and 343 Ostara.