7959 Alysecherri
7959 Alysecherri, provisional designation 1994 PK, is a bright, stony Hungaria asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 2 August 1994, by American astronomer Carl Hergenrother at Steward Observatory's Catalina Station on Mt Bigelow near Tucson, Arizona.[6] The asteroid was named for the discoverer's wife, Alyse Cherri.[2]
Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | C. W. Hergenrother |
Discovery site | Catalina Stn. |
Discovery date | 2 August 1994 |
Designations | |
(7959) Alysecherri | |
Named after | Alyse Cherri Smith (wife of discoverer)[2] |
1994 PK | |
main-belt · Hungaria [3] | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 65.30 yr (23,850 days) |
Aphelion | 2.1094 AU |
Perihelion | 1.7760 AU |
1.9427 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.0858 |
2.71 yr (989 days) | |
169.49° | |
0° 21m 50.4s / day | |
Inclination | 19.263° |
235.79° | |
100.40° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 3.05 km (calculated)[3] |
3.161±0.005 h[4] | |
0.30 (assumed)[3] | |
E [3] | |
14.5[1][3] · 15.09±0.63[5] | |
Orbit and classification
The E-type asteroid is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.1 AU once every 2 years and 9 months (989 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 19° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at Palomar Observatory in 1951, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 43 years prior to its discovery.[6]
Physical characteristics
A rotational lightcurve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by American astronomer Brian Warner at the U.S. Palmer Divide Observatory, Colorado, in July 2013. It gave a rotation period of 3.161±0.005 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.13 in magnitude (U=2).[4] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.30 and calculates a diameter of 3.05 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.5.[3]
Naming
This minor planet is named after the maiden name of the discovering astronomer's wife, Alyse Cherri Smith.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 13 November 2008 (M.P.C. 64311).[7]
References
- "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 7959 Alysecherri (1994 PK)" (2017-03-19 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (7959) Alysecherri. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 610. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- "LCDB Data for (7959) Alysecherri". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- Warner, Brian D. (January 2014). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at CS3-Palmer Divide Station: 2013 June- September". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (1): 27–32. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41...27W. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
- 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. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- "7959 Alysecherri (1994 PK)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
- "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
External links
- The Palmer Divide Observatory: Tour given by Brian Warner on YouTube (time 4:03 min.)
- 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 (5001)-(10000) – Minor Planet Center
- 7959 Alysecherri at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 7959 Alysecherri at the JPL Small-Body Database