51828 Ilanramon (provisional designation 2001 OU39) is a Gefionian asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 July 2001, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named in memory of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[9]

51828 Ilanramon
Discovery [1]
Discovered byNEAT
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date20 July 2001
Designations
(51828) Ilanramon
Named after
Ilan Ramon[2]
(Israeli astronaut)
2001 OU39
main-belt · (middle)
Gefion[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc26.95 yr (9,844 days)
Aphelion3.1311 AU
Perihelion2.4181 AU
2.7746 AU
Eccentricity0.1285
4.62 yr (1,688 days)
76.382°
0° 12m 47.88s / day
Inclination9.4769°
41.712°
42.469°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions5.549±0.904 km[4][5]
9.24 km (calculated)[6]
3.61±0.43 h[7]
0.057 (assumed)[6]
0.1899±0.1093[4][5]
C (assumed)[6]
13.7[5] · 13.9[1][6] · 14.03±0.35[8]

Orbit and classification

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Ilanramon is a member of the Gefion family (516),[3] a large asteroid family named after 1272 Gefion.[10] It orbits the Sun in the intermediate main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,688 days; semi-major axis of 2.77 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

The asteroid's observation arc begins with a precovery from the Digitized Sky Survey taken at Palomar in May 1990, nearly 11 years prior to the body's official discovery observation.[9]

Physical characteristics

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Ilanramon is an assumed C-type asteroid,[6] but its membership to the Gefion family and its relatively high albedo (see below) measured by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), indicate that it is likely a stony S-type asteroid.[10]: 23 

Rotation period

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In February 2016, a rotational lightcurve of Ilanramon was obtained from photometric observations by a group of Hungarian astronomers based on the Kepler space telescope's K2-mission. Lightcurve analysis gave a short rotation period of 3.61 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.88 magnitude, indicative for a non-spherical shape (U=2).[7]

Diameter and albedo

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According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Ilanramon measures 5.549 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.1899,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and consequently calculates a larger diameter of 9.24 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.9.[6]

Naming

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This minor planet was named after Israeli astronaut and payload specialist Ilan Ramon (1954–2003), who was killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on 1 February 2003.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 6 August 2003 (M.P.C. 49283).[11]

The following asteroids were also named in memory of the other six members of STS-107: 51823 Rickhusband, 51824 Mikeanderson, 51825 Davidbrown, 51826 Kalpanachawla, 51827 Laurelclark and 51829 Williemccool.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 51828 Ilanramon (2001 OU39)" (2017-04-30 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). "(51828) Ilanramon [2.77, 0.13, 9.5]". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 216. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-34361-5_2557. ISBN 978-3-540-34361-5.
  3. ^ a b "Asteroid 51828 Ilanramon – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. S2CID 118745497.
  5. ^ a b c d Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. S2CID 118700974.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "LCDB Data for (51828) Ilanramon". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b Molnár, L.; Pál, A.; Sárneczky, K.; Szabó, R.; Vinkó, J.; Szabó, Gy. M.; et al. (June 2017). "Main-belt Asteroids in the K 2 Uranus Field". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 234 (2): 37. arXiv:1706.06056. doi:10.3847/1538-4365/aaa1a1. S2CID 119423034.
  8. ^ 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. S2CID 53493339.
  9. ^ a b "51828 Ilanramon (2001 OU39)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  10. ^ 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 978-0-8165-3213-1. S2CID 119280014.
  11. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
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