3953 Perth, provisional designation 1986 VB6, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.5 kilometers (2.8 mi) in diameter. It was discovered on 6 November 1986, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at the Anderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona.[11] The asteroid was named for the Australian Perth Observatory.[2]
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 6 November 1986 |
| Designations | |
| (3953) Perth | |
Named after | Perth Observatory [2] (in West Australia) |
| 1986 VB6 · 1969 TO6 1979 QG8 · 1979 RP1 | |
| main-belt · (inner) Flora [3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 46.84 yr (17,109 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6876 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8342 AU |
| 2.2609 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1887 |
| 3.40 yr (1,242 days) | |
| 46.332° | |
| 0° 17m 23.64s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.9507° |
| 129.08° | |
| 237.98° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.18 km (derived)[3] 4.80±0.16 km[5] |
| 5.083±0.005 h[6] 5.087±0.0010 h[7] 5.2±0.1 h[8] | |
| 0.24 (assumed)[3] 0.335±0.066[5] | |
| S [3] | |
| 13.40[5] · 13.5[1] · 13.712±0.009 (R)[7] · 13.81±0.23[9] · 14.06±0.04[3][8][10] | |
Orbit and classification
editPerth is a member of the Flora family (402),[4] a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[12]: 23 It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,242 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified as 1969 TO6 at Crimea–Nauchnij in October 1969. The body's observation arc begins at Nauchnij with its identification as 1979 RP1 in October 1979, more than seven years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.[11]
Physical characteristics
editPerth is an assumed S-type asteroid,[3] which corresponds with the overall spectral type of the Flora family.[12]: 23
Rotation period
editIn February 2008, a rotational lightcurve of Perth was obtained by a collaboration of astronomers in a photometric survey of the Flora region. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 5.083 hours with a brightness variation of 0.28 magnitude (U=2).[6] Other photometric observations at the Palomar Transient Factory in October 2010, and by Wiesław Wiśniewski in December 1993, gave a period of 5.087 and 5.2 hours with an amplitude of 0.92 and 1.09, respectively (U=2/2+).[8][7]
Diameter and albedo
editAccording to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Perth measures 4.80 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.335,[5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – taken from 8 Flora the Flora family's largest member and namesake – and derives a diameter of 4.18 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 14.06.[3]
Naming
editThis minor planet was named after the Australian Perth Observatory for its many contributions to astronomy including the Perth 70 meridian catalogue, the co-discovery of the rings of Uranus, and observational work on Comet Halley both in 1910 and 1986. The observatory was founded near the city of Perth in 1896, and moved to Bickley in 1965. The observatory is known for its astrometry and photometry on small Solar System bodies.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 17 August 1989 (M.P.C. 14972).[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3953 Perth (1986 VB6)" (2016-08-18 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3953) Perth". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 337. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3941. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g "LCDB Data for (3953) Perth". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ a b "Asteroid 3953 Perth – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ a b Kryszczynska, A.; Colas, F.; Polinska, M.; Hirsch, R.; Ivanova, V.; Apostolovska, G.; et al. (October 2012). "Do Slivan states exist in the Flora family?. I. Photometric survey of the Flora region". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 546: 51. Bibcode:2012A&A...546A..72K. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201219199.
- ^ a b c Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ a b c Wisniewski, W. Z.; Michalowski, T. M.; Harris, A. W.; McMillan, R. S. (March 1995). "Photoelectric Observations of 125 Asteroids". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 26: 1511. Bibcode:1995LPI....26.1511W. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ Pravec, Petr; Harris, Alan W.; Kusnirák, Peter; Galád, Adrián; Hornoch, Kamil (September 2012). "Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations". Icarus. 221 (1): 365–387. Bibcode:2012Icar..221..365P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ a b "3953 Perth (1986 VB6)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ a b Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
External links
edit- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
- 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
- 3953 Perth at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 3953 Perth at the JPL Small-Body Database
