Speckle interferometry of asteroids. II - 532 Herculina

Speckle interferometry of 532 Herculina performed on January 17 and 18, 1982, yields triaxial ellipsoid dimensions of (263 + or - 14) x (218 + or - 12) x (215 + or - 12) km, and a north pole for the asteroid within 7 deg of RA = 7h47min and DEC = -39 deg (ecliptic coordinates lambda = 132 deg beta = -59 deg). In addition, a 'spot' some 75 percent brighter than the rest of the asteroid is inferred from both speckle observations and Herculina's lightcurve history. This bright complex, centered at asterocentric latitude -35 deg, longitude 145-165 deg, extends over a diameter of 55 deg (115 km) of the asteroid's surface. No evidence for a satellite is found from the speckle observations, which leads to an upper limit of 50 km for the diameter of any satellite with an albedo the same as or higher than Herculina.