Virtual instrument for inversion of light curves used to predict shapes and attitude parameters of asteroids and artificial satellites

Modeling some celestial bodies and their associated astronomical instruments is fundamental for end-to-end observation planning. One of the strategies that enables us to study the characteristics of quasi-amorphous celestial bodies is to examine how they scatter light from a given source toward an observer. The record of the variation in light intensity captured by an observer using an astronomical instrument is called a light curve, which is linked to the shape and rotation of the body. We present a strategy for inverting light curves recorded from different visualization geometries to obtain the shape, rotation, and pole of a given quasi-amorphous object. The shape is presented as the final output. The methodology is tested using computationally generated light curves of various objects, including a cube, a cylinder, and an ellipsoid. Later, the results will be complemented by presenting the asteroid light curve inversion taken from the Database of Asteroid Models from Inversion Techniques asteroid light curve photometry database. After scaling the models obtained through our inversion technique with the Asteroid Lightcurve Data Exchange Format (ALCDEF)’s database, these will be compared with the known corresponding objects and three-dimensional models present in the databases. All processes previously described, associated with the inversion curve strategy, constitute a virtual instrument that can calculate the orientation pole and diameter of specific asteroids. We tested our instrument for a particular asteroid, resulting in a maximum error of 26% and 11.58%, respectively. Furthermore, after calculating the intensity emitted by the object with the obtained model and comparing it with the light curve presented in ALCDEF, we demonstrated its usefulness in predicting the intensity emitted by the obtained model. To complement the current work, the calculation of changes in the pole and rotation period over time will be included, which will allow for a better characterization of the attitude and shape of artificial satellites.