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Science 13 July 1979:
Vol. 205. no. 4402, pp. 185 - 186
DOI: 10.1126/science.205.4402.185
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Articles

Reliability of Minor Planet Satellite Observations

HAROLD J. REITSEMA 1

1 Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson 85721

In an examination of the reliability of occultation observations of minor planet companions, redundant photoelectric observations have been made of possible occultation events. These observations indicate that spurious events may be easily misidentified as true occultations, and that caution must be exercised in interpreting such occurrences. Further analysis of observations of the 1973 Pallas occultation suggests that earlier results may be unreliable.

Submitted on March 23, 1979
Revised on May 21, 1979


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Occultation by a Possible Third Satellite of Neptune.
H. J. REITSEMA, W. B. HUBBARD, L. A. LEBOFSKY, and D. J. THOLEN (1982)
Science 215, 289-291
   Abstract »    PDF »
Minor Planet Satellites.
T. C. Van Flandern and T. C. VAN FLANDERN (1981)
Science 211, 297-298
   PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)