@article{fdi:010078175,
  title = {{S}ize and shape constraints of (486958) {A}rrokoth from stellar occultations},
  author = {{B}uie, {M}. {W}. and {P}orter, {S}. {B}. and {T}amblyn, {P}. and {T}errell, {D}. and {P}arker, {A}. {H}. and {B}aratoux, {D}avid and et al.,},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{W}e present the results from four stellar occultations by (486958) {A}rrokoth, the flyby target of the {N}ew {H}orizons extended mission. {T}hree of the four efforts led to positive detections of the body, and all constrained the presence of rings and other debris, finding none. {T}wenty-five mobile stations were deployed for 2017 {J}une 3 and augmented by fixed telescopes. {T}here were no positive detections from this effort. {T}he event on 2017 {J}uly 10 was observed by the {S}tratospheric {O}bservatory for {I}nfrared {A}stronomy with one very short chord. {T}wenty-four deployed stations on 2017 {J}uly 17 resulted in five chords that clearly showed a complicated shape consistent with a contact binary with rough dimensions of 20 by 30 km for the overall outline. {A} visible albedo of 10% was derived from these data. {T}wenty-two systems were deployed for the fourth event on 2018 {A}ugust 4 and resulted in two chords. {T}he combination of the occultation data and the flyby results provides a significant refinement of the rotation period, now estimated to be 15.9380 +/- 0.0005 hr. {T}he occultation data also provided high-precision astrometric constraints on the position of the object that were crucial for supporting the navigation for the {N}ew {H}orizons flyby. {T}his work demonstrates an effective method for obtaining detailed size and shape information and probing for rings and dust on distant {K}uiper {B}elt objects as well as being an important source of positional data that can aid in spacecraft navigation that is particularly useful for small and distant bodies.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}stronomical {J}ournal},
  volume = {159},
  numero = {4},
  pages = {art. 130 [27 ]},
  ISSN = {0004-6256},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.3847/1538-3881/ab6ced},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010078175},
}