4391 Balodis
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | N. Chernykh |
| Discovery site | CrAO - Nauchnyj |
| Discovery date | 21 August 1977 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 4391 Balodis |
|
Named after
|
Jānis Balodis (geodesist)[2] |
| 1977 QW2 · 1977 RR2 1980 GZ |
|
| main-belt · Erigone [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 38.33 yr (14,000 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9009 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8755 AU |
| 2.3882 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2146 |
| 3.69 yr (1,348 days) | |
| 117.06° | |
| Inclination | 5.3498° |
| 190.32° | |
| 108.28° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.36±0.17 km[4] 8.43 km (calculated)[3] |
| 3.448±0.001 h[5] | |
| 0.393±0.072[4] 0.057 (assumed)[3] |
|
| C [3] | |
| 14.1[1] | |
4391 Balodis, provisional designation 1977 QW2, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Soviet–Russian astronomer Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula, on 21 August 1977.[6]
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,348 days). Its orbit is tilted by 5 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic and shows an eccentricity of 0.21.[1] A light-curve analysis at the Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley (OAVdA) in Italy has determined a rotation period of 3.448 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.29 in magnitude.[5]
While observations by the U.S. Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer rendered an exceptionally high albedo of 0.40 for the asteroid with a corresponding small diameter of 3.4 kilometers,[4] the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes a much lower albedo of 0.06, a typical value for a dark C-type asteroid, and a diameter of 8.4 kilometers, as the lower the albedo (reflectivity) the larger the body's diameter for a given absolute magnitude (brightness).[3] Based on the asteroid's orbital elements, CALL classifies it as a member of the Erigone family, which is named after its namesake, the asteroid 163 Erigone, also a dark body of supposedly carbonaceous composition.[3]
The minor planet was named in honor of Jānis Balodis, chief of the cosmic geodesy department at the Astronomical Observatory of the Latvian University, known for his work on astrometric and laser observations of artificial satellites and on methods of mathematical reductions in photographic astrometry. A set of his computer programs has been used in the Crimean minor planet service for many years.[2] (Not to be confused with the Soviet army General, Jānis Balodis.)
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- 4391 Balodis at the JPL Small-Body Database
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