Astronomy:2391 Tomita

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Short description: Nysian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt
2391 Tomita
Discovery [1]
Discovered byK. Reinmuth
Discovery siteHeidelberg Obs.
Discovery date9 January 1957
Designations
(2391) Tomita
Named afterKōichirō Tomita
(Japanese astronomer)[2]
1957 AA · 1929 VX
1938 BF · 1942 DF
1957 BA · 1977 KM
1978 PA4 · 1980 DC6
Minor planet categorymain-belt · Nysa[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc87.07 yr (31,804 days)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}2.7676 AU
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}2.1141 AU
2.4408 AU
Eccentricity0.1339
Orbital period3.81 yr (1,393 days)
Mean anomaly345.07°
Mean motion0° 15m 30.6s / day
Inclination3.0111°
Longitude of ascending node163.32°
282.65°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions9.17 km (calculated)[3]
15.07±4.33 km[4]
15.20±3.74 km[5]
16.62±0.23 km[6]
17.941±0.129[7]
19.412±0.175 km[8]
Rotation period7.9533±0.0005 h[lower-alpha 1]
8.435±0.079 h[lower-alpha 2]
Geometric albedo0.0321±0.0044[8]
0.06±0.03[5]
0.070±0.004[6]
0.07±0.07[4][7]
0.21 (assumed)[3]
S[3] · C[9]
Absolute magnitude (H)12.4[4][6][8] · 12.5[1][3] · 12.66[5] · 12.74±0.28[9]


2391 Tomita, provisional designation 1957 AA, is a Nysian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 9 January 1957, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany.[10] It was named after Japanese astronomer Kōichirō Tomita.[2]

Orbit and classification

Tomita is a member of the Nysa family, which is named after its most massive member 44 Nysa. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,393 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

A first precovery was taken at Lowell Observatory in 1929, extending the body's observation arc by 28 years prior to its official discovery observation at Heidelberg.[10]

Physical characteristics

Tomita has been characterized as a stony S-type asteroid by the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL), and as a carbonaceous C-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS' photometric survey.[3][9]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures between 15.07 and 19.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo between 0.03 and 0.07, respectively.[4][5][6][7][8]

As CALL considers the body to be of a stony composition, it assumes a much higher albedo of 0.21 and calculates a diameter of 9.2 kilometers, as the higher the asteroid's reflectivity (albedo), the shorter its diameter at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).[3]

Rotation period

In December 2013, two rotational lightcurves were obtained for this asteroid from photometric observations. They gave a rotation period of 7.9533±0.0005 and 8.435±0.079 hours with a brightness variation of 0.14 and 0.15 in magnitude, respectively. ({{{1}}}).[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of Japanese astronomer Kōichirō Tomita (1925–2006), long-time observer at the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, and a discoverer of minor planets and comets himself. Tomita was also known as one of Japan's principal popularizer of astronomy.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 14 April 1987 (M.P.C. 11748).[11]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Pravec (2013) web: lightcurve plot with a rotation period 7.9533±0.0005 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.14 mag. Summary figures for (2391) Tomita at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) and Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounova, L. (2013)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Williams (2013) web: rotation period 8.435±0.079 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.15 mag. Summary figures for (2391) Tomita at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL). Data by Williams, R. (2013), posted on CALL page.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2391 Tomita (1957 AA)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2002391. Retrieved 13 June 2017. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2391) Tomita". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2391) Tomita. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 195. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2392. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "LCDB Data for (2391) Tomita". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=2391%7CTomita. Retrieved 14 August 2016. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T. et al. (December 2015). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year One: Preliminary Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal 814 (2): 13. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/117. Bibcode2015ApJ...814..117N. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2015ApJ...814..117N. Retrieved 13 June 2017. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Kramer, E. A.; Grav, T. et al. (September 2016). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Two: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astronomical Journal 152 (3): 12. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/63. Bibcode2016AJ....152...63N. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 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. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Bibcode2012ApJ...759L...8M. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2012ApJ...759L...8M. Retrieved 14 August 2016. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 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. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121. Bibcode2014ApJ...791..121M. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2014ApJ...791..121M. Retrieved 7 December 2016. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 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. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Bibcode2011ApJ...741...90M. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2011ApJ...741...90M. Retrieved 14 August 2016. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 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. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Bibcode2015Icar..261...34V. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2015Icar..261...34V. Retrieved 14 August 2016. 
  10. 10.0 10.1 "2391 Tomita (1957 AA)". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=2391. Retrieved 14 August 2016. 
  11. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html. Retrieved 14 August 2016. 

External links