855 Newcombia (prov. designation: A916 GP or 1916 ZP) is a stony background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on 3 April 1916, by astronomer Sergey Belyavsky at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula.[1] The S-type asteroid has a notably short rotation period of 3.0 hours and measures approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) in diameter. It was named after Canadian–American astronomer Simon Newcomb (1835–1909).[2]

855 Newcombia
Discovery [1]
Discovered byS. Belyavskyj
Discovery siteSimeiz Obs.
Discovery date3 April 1916
Designations
(855) Newcombia
Named after
Simon Newcomb[2]
(United States Naval Observatory)
A916 GP · 1935 SJ1
1938 KB · 1916 ZP
main-belt[1][3] · (inner)
background[4][5]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 31 May 2020 (JD 2459000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc103.77 yr (37,902 d)
Aphelion2.7845 AU
Perihelion1.9403 AU
2.3624 AU
Eccentricity0.1787
3.63 yr (1,326 d)
211.62°
0° 16m 17.04s / day
Inclination10.881°
17.118°
233.98°
Physical characteristics
3.003 h[9][10]
S (SDSS-MOC)[11]
11.70[1][3]

Orbit and classification

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Newcombia is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements.[4][5] It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,326 days; semi-major axis of 2.36 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 11° with respect to the ecliptic.[3]

Discovery

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Newcombia was discovered by Soviet-Russian astronomer Sergey Belyavsky at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula on 3 April 1916. The body's observation arc begins three weeks later, with its independent discovery by Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory on 28 April 2016.[2] The Minor Planet Center, however, only credits the first discoverer.[1]

Naming

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This minor planet was named after Simon Newcomb (1835–1909), a Canadian–American professor of astronomy and director of the U.S. Nautical Almanac Office at the United States Naval Observatory. He worked on cometary and planetary orbits and is known for his Tables of the Motion of the Earth on its Axis and Around the Sun, a mathematical development of the position of the Earth in the Solar System. Newcomb also measured the speed of light and revised the astronomical unit. The naming was mentioned in The Names of the Minor Planets by Paul Herget in 1955 (H 84).[2] The lunar crater Newcomb as well as the Martian crater Newcomb were also named in his honor.[12][13]

Physical characteristics

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In the SDSS-based taxonomy, Newcombia is a common, stony S-type asteroid.[11]

Rotation period

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In October 2004, a rotational lightcurve of Newcombia was obtained from photometric observations by American amateur astronomer Walter R. Cooney Jr. in collaboration with John Gross, Dirk Terrell, Vishnu Reddy and Ron Dyvig. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 3.003±0.007 hours with a brightness variation of 0.35±0.03 magnitude (U=3).[10][14]

An identical period of 3.003±0.001 hours with an amplitude of 0.33±0.02 magnitude was determined in April 2014, by Daniel Klinglesmith and colleagues at the Etscorn Observatory (719) in New Mexico (U=3).[9] Klinglesmith also published a period of 3.004±0.001 h in November 2015 and January 2017 (U=3/3).[15][16] Two more lightcurves by Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies (U81) gave a period of 3.002±0.001 and 3.004±0.001 hours with a brightness variation of 0.41±0.02 and 0.4±0.02 magnitude in March 2014 and September 2019, respectively (U=3/3).[17][a]

Diameter and albedo

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According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), Newcombia measures (10.97±0.28) and (12.392±0.088) kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of (0.285±0.017) and (0.219±0.040), respectively.[6][7][8] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 13.58 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 11.7.[14] Alternative mean-diameter measurements published by the WISE team include (10.19±1.49 km) and (12.930±0.133 km) with corresponding albedos of (0.41±0.19) and (0.2037±0.0483).[5][14]

Notes

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  1. ^ Lightcurve plots of (855) Newcombia from March 2014 (3.002±0.001 h) and from September 2019 (3.004±0.001 h) taken at the Center for Solar System Studies (CS3). Quality code of 3. Summary figures at the LCDB and CS3.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "855 Newcombia (A916 GP)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(855) Newcombia". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 78. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_856. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 855 Newcombia (A916 GP)" (2020-02-04 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Asteroid 855 Newcombia – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Asteroid 855 Newcombia". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
  7. ^ a b c Mainzer, A. K.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; Kramer, E. A.; Masiero, J. R.; et al. (June 2016). "NEOWISE Diameters and Albedos V1.0". NASA Planetary Data System. 247. Bibcode:2016PDSS..247.....M. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121. S2CID 119293330.
  9. ^ a b Klinglesmith, Daniel A. III; Hanowell, Jesse; Risley, Ethan; Turk, Janek; Vargas, Angelica; Warren, Curtis Alan (July 2014). "Lightcurves for Inversion Model Candidates" (PDF). Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (3): 139–143. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41..139K. ISSN 1052-8091. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  10. ^ a b Cooney, Walter R. Jr.; Gross, John; Terrell, Dirk; Reddy, Vishnu; Dyvig, Ron (June 2007). "Lightcurve Results for 486 Cremona, 855 Newcombia 942 Romilda, 3908 Nyx, 5139 Rumoi, 5653 Camarillo, (102866) 1999 WA5" (PDF). Minor Planet Bulletin. 34 (2): 47–49. Bibcode:2007MPBu...34...47C. ISSN 1052-8091.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ a b Carvano, J. M.; Hasselmann, P. H.; Lazzaro, D.; Mothé-Diniz, T. (February 2010). "SDSS-based taxonomic classification and orbital distribution of main belt asteroids". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 510: 12. Bibcode:2010A&A...510A..43C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200913322. Retrieved 6 March 2020. (PDS data set)
  12. ^ "Lunar crater Newcomb". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  13. ^ "Martian crater Newcomb". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
  14. ^ a b c "LCDB Data for (855) Newcombia". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  15. ^ Klinglesmith, Daniel A. III; Hendrickx, Sebastian; Madden, Karl; Montgomery, Samuel (April 2016). "Lightcurves for Shape/Spin Models" (PDF). Minor Planet Bulletin. 43 (2): 123–128. Bibcode:2016MPBu...43..123K. ISSN 1052-8091. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  16. ^ Klinglesmith, Daniel A. III; Hendrickx, Sebastian; Kimber, Cameron; Madden, Karl (July 2017). "CCD Asteroid Photometry from Etscorn Observatory" (PDF). Minor Planet Bulletin. 44 (3): 244–246. Bibcode:2017MPBu...44..244K. ISSN 1052-8091. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  17. ^ Stephens, Robert D. (July 2014). "Asteroids Observed from CS3: 2014 January - March" (PDF). Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (3): 171–175. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41..171S. ISSN 1052-8091. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
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