1778 Alfvén
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Palomar–Leiden survey C. J. van Houten, I. van Houten-Groeneveld, Tom Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 26 September 1960 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 1778 Alfvén |
|
Named after
|
Hannes Alfvén (physicist)[2] |
| 4506 P–L · 1936 HK 1952 DD1 · 1958 FB 1959 NN |
|
| main-belt · Themis [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 61.16 yr (22,338 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.5486 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.7467 AU |
| 3.1477 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1273 |
| 5.58 yr (2,040 days) | |
| 41.519° | |
| Inclination | 2.4738° |
| 106.25° | |
| 135.96° | |
| Earth MOID | 1.7345 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 20.51 km (calculated)[3] |
| 4.82 h[4] 4.8050±0.0027 h[5] |
|
| 0.08 (assumed)[3] | |
| C [3] | |
| 11.8 | |
1778 Alfvén, also designated 4506 P–L, is a carbonaceous main belt asteroid, discovered on September 26, 1960, by Cornelis van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels at Palomar, in San Diego, United States.[6]
The asteroid is a member of the Themis family and has a calculated diameter of about 21 kilometers.[3] It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,040 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.13 and is tilted by 2 degrees towards the plane of the ecliptic.[1] It has a rotation period of 4.82 hours, measured in 2013.[4][5] The albedo of the C-type asteroid is around 0.08, based on assumptions made by the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link.[3]
The designation P–L stands for Palomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory and Leiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitful Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld at Leiden Observatory. The trio are credited with several thousand asteroid discoveries.
The asteroid was named after Swedish engineer, physicist and Nobel prize winner, Hannes Alfvén (1908–1995).[2]
References
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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
- 1778 Alfvén at the JPL Small-Body Database
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