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Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths
Published on: July 1, 2019
Shape of Asteroid 4769 Castalia (1989 PB) from Inversion of Radar Images
Abstract:
The inversion of previously reported, delay-Doppler images of Castalia yields a 167-parameter, three-dimensional shape model that is bifurcated into two distinct, irregular, kilometer-sized lobes. The crevice that separates the lobes has an average depth of between 100 and 150 meters and is oriented roughly perpendicular to the asteroid's longest dimension. The constrained least-squares reconstruction method introduced here can be used to determine the shape, spin vector, and radar-scattering properties of any asteroid or comet for which delay-Doppler images provide sufficient signal-to-noise ratio, orientational coverage, and spatial resolution.
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