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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Precision Measurements and Parametric Models of Vertebral Endplates
Published on: September 17, 2019
Pole and global shape of 25143 Itokawa
Hirohide Demura1, Shingo Kobayashi, Etsuko Nemoto
1Department of Computer Software, University of Aizu, Ikki-machi, Aizu-Wakamatsu City, Fukushima 965-8580, Japan.
Abstract:
The locations of the pole and rotation axis of asteroid 25143 Itokawa were derived from Asteroid Multiband Imaging Camera data on the Hayabusa spacecraft. The retrograde pole orientation had a right ascension of 90.53 degrees and a declination of -66.30 degrees (52000 equinox) or equivalently 128.5 degrees and -89.66 degrees in ecliptic coordinates with a 3.9 degrees margin of error. The surface area is 0.393 square kilometers, the volume is 0.018378 cubic kilometers with a 5% margin of error, and the three axis lengths are 535 meters by 294 meters by 209 meters. The global Itokawa revealed a boomerang-shaped appearance composed of two distinct parts with partly faceted regions and a constricted ring structure.
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