Study of photometric phase curve: assuming a cellinoid ellipsoid shape for asteroid (106) Dione

We carried out new photometric observations of asteroid (106) Dione at three apparitions (2004, 2012 and 2015) to understand its basic physical properties. Based on a new brightness model, new photometric observational data and published data of (106) Dione were analyzed to characterize the morphology of Dione’s photometric phase curve. In this brightness model, a cellinoid ellipsoid shape and three-parameter ( H , G 1 , G 2 ) magnitude phase function system were involved. Such a model can not only solve the phase function system parameters of (106) Dione by considering an asymmetric shape of an asteroid, but also can be applied to more asteroids, especially those without enough photometric data to solve the convex shape. Using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, Dione’s absolute magnitude of \(H = 7.66^{+0.03}_{−0.03}\) mag, and phase function parameters \(G_1 = 0.682^{+0.077}_{−0.077}\)and \(G_2 = 0.081^{+0.042}_{−0.042}\) were obtained. Simultaneously, Dione’s simplistic shape, orientation of pole and rotation period were also determined preliminarily.