Scientific Nexus
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2025): Scientific Nexus

Photometric determination of asteroid 9 Metis rotation period using the OZT-ALTS robotic telescope

Achmad Zainur Rozzykin (Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, South Lampung 35365, Indonesia)
Aditya Abdilah Yusuf (Observatorium Astronomi Itera Lampung (OAIL), Institut Teknologi Sumatera, South Lampung 35365, Indonesia)
Ridlo Wahyudi Wibowo (Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, South Lampung 35365, Indonesia)
Adhitya Oktaviandra (Observatorium Astronomi Itera Lampung (OAIL), Institut Teknologi Sumatera, South Lampung 35365, Indonesia)
Novia Doloyanty Br Sinaga (Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, South Lampung 35365, Indonesia)
Zeni Septiani (Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, South Lampung 35365, Indonesia)
Muhammad Rafiansyah (Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, South Lampung 35365, Indonesia)
Ioga Lazuardi (Department of Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, South Lampung 35365, Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
06 Jul 2025

Abstract

Asteroid 9 Metis, a prominent main-belt object with an irregular shape and diameter of approximately 190 km, provides insights into early solar system formation and evolution. We determined its synodic rotation period through ground-based photometric observations using the OZT-ALTS robotic telescope at Institut Teknologi Sumatera (Itera). Observations were conducted on May 6, 2025, spanning 6.2 hours continuously. We analyzed 125 calibrated light frames using aperture photometry to construct a light curve. Period analysis employed the Lomb-Scargle periodogram method, suitable for unevenly spaced astronomical data. The periodogram revealed a dominant peak at 2.51 hours. However, the folded light curve exhibited characteristic double-peaked structure with two maxima and minima per cycle, indicating this represents half the actual rotation period. The true synodic rotation period was therefore determined as 5.01 ± 1.01 hours. This result agrees with previously reported values (~5.08 hours), confirming that asteroid 9 Metis has an elongated shape or heterogeneous surface reflectivity. Our study demonstrates that accurate rotational periods can be obtained using moderate-sized telescopes and modern photometric techniques for kilometer-scale asteroids. These findings contribute to understanding asteroid rotational dynamics and provide reference data for future shape modeling studies.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

scinexus

Publisher

Subject

Astronomy Chemistry Earth & Planetary Sciences Materials Science & Nanotechnology Medicine & Pharmacology

Description

Scientific Nexus is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing research articles, review articles, short communications, editorials, and perspectives within the scope of Science, covering but not limited to: Physics Biomedicine Chemistry Drug Discovery and Development Atmospheric and Planetary ...