Export Citation
Export Citation
Airey, RJS, Chote, P, Wiersema, K, Apergis, I, McCormac, J, Blake, JA, Cooke, BF, Lockley, IS, Wheatley, PJ, Bayliss, D, Gill, S, Watson, CA, Covino, S, Snik, F, Marchant, J, Maund, J, Simmons, B and Steele, IA 
ORCID: 0000-0001-8397-5759
(2026)
Brightness, colour, polarisation: a multi-instrument observation campaign of the Gorizont-6 satellite.
Advances in Space Research.
ISSN 0273-1177
Preview |
Text
Brightness colour polarisation a multiinstrument observation campaign of the Gorizont6 satellite.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (4MB) | Preview |
Abstract
We present a coordinated multi-instrument photometric and polarimetric study of the defunct geosynchronous satellite, Gorizont-6. This observation campaign combined wide-field multi-colour observations with simultaneous multi-site photometry and linear polarimetry. Our results demonstrate that the combined simultaneous colour and polarimetric measurements aid in breaking the degeneracy between the fundamental spin period and its harmonics, enabling light-curve features to be associated with specific reflecting surfaces. Using phase-dispersion minimisation with bootstrap resampling, we then measure a steadily increasing rotation period across six epochs spanning nine months, well described by a damped exponential curve consistent with Yarkovsky–O’Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack (YORP) driven spin-down. A geometrical analysis of the multi-site observations provides additional constraints on the spin-axis orientation based on paired glint events. Overall, multi-colour photometry yields efficient, robust period measurements compared with single-band data, while polarimetry supplies the decisive constraints needed for unambiguous rotation-state determination, highlighting the value of combined photometric–polarimetric strategies for characterising defunct satellites.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 5109 Space Sciences; 51 Physical Sciences; 5109 Space Sciences; 51 Physical Sciences; 0201 Astronomical and Space Sciences; 0901 Aerospace Engineering; 0913 Mechanical Engineering; Aerospace & Aeronautics; 5101 Astronomical sciences; 5109 Space sciences |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QB Astronomy Q Science > QC Physics |
| Divisions: | Astrophysics Research Institute |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| Date of acceptance: | 31 March 2026 |
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 1 May 2026 |
| Date Deposited: | 01 May 2026 12:46 |
| Last Modified: | 01 May 2026 12:46 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1016/j.asr.2026.03.106 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28504 |
 |
View Item |