1997 Leverrier
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana Asteroid Program |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 14 September 1963 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 1997 Leverrier |
|
Named after
|
Urbain Le Verrier (mathematician)[2] |
| 1963 RC · 1940 SF 1950 TS3 · 1953 QB 1973 SX4 · 1973 UF |
|
| main-belt | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 65.00 yr (23741 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6665 AU (398.90 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 1.7519 AU (262.08 Gm) |
| 2.2092 AU (330.49 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.20701 |
| 3.28 yr (1199.3 d) | |
| 333.29° | |
| Inclination | 6.0693° |
| 353.22° | |
| 0.69875° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.744899 AU (111.4353 Gm) |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.75983 AU (412.865 Gm) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.81±0.7 km (IRAS)[1] 10±4 km (conversion)[3] |
|
Mean radius
|
3.405 ± 0.35 km |
| 8.01532 h (0.333972 d) | |
| 0.1662 ± 0.040 (IRAS)[1] | |
| 13.3[1] | |
1997 Leverrier, provisional designation 1963 RC, is a small asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by the Indiana Asteroid Program at the U.S. Goethe Link Observatory in Brooklyn, Indiana, on 14 September 1963.[4]
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,199 days). Its orbit is tilted by 6 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic and shows an eccentricity of 0.21. It has an albedo of 0.166.
Since the body's diameter and albedo are based on only two observations made by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, little is actually known about the asteroid's composition, rotation, and its effective size and albedo, despite having a well-observed orbit with the lowest possible uncertainty – a condition code of 0 – and an observation arc that spans over a period of nearly 70 years, due to precovery images dating back to 1950.[1] Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, its diameter could be anywhere between 6 and 14 kilometers, if the sparse data from IRAS turns out to be inaccurate.[3]
The minor planet was named after French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier (1811–1877). In 1846, he predicted the existence and position of the planet Neptune by applying the mathematics of celestial mechanics. The Martian and lunar craters Le Verrier are also named in his honor.[2] The name was suggested by the director of the Minor Planet Center, Brian Marsden, after whom the minor planet 1877 Marsden is named.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- 1997 Leverrier at the JPL Small-Body Database
