Abstract

Illumination of asteroids with a pulsed laser provides a model-independent measurement of asteroid diameters. Due to the depth from the subearth point to the limb of the asteroid, the return pulse is spread in time. The signal duration is twice the maximum depth along the earth asteroid line divided by the speed of light. The range and depth are determined from temporal measurements alone. Therefore, only timing, not spatial resolution of the asteroid with the laser beam, is required to measure the depth. The depth measurement is possible because there is little or no limb darkening at optical wavelengths for most asteroids. The normal albedo is determined from the height of the initial portion of the return. The geometric albedo is determined from the integral of the return signal.

© 1986 Optical Society of America