Astronomy:3133 Sendai

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3133 Sendai
Discovery [1]
Discovered byA. Kopff
Discovery siteHeidelberg Obs.
Discovery date4 October 1907
Designations
(3133) Sendai
Named afterSendai (Japanese city)[2]
A907 TC · 1968 TO
1973 DN · 1981 UX
1984 QG1 · A907 XA
Minor planet categorymain-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc109.19 yr (39,882 days)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}2.5314 AU
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}1.8299 AU
2.1806 AU
Eccentricity0.1608
Orbital period3.22 yr (1,176 days)
Mean anomaly44.618°
Mean motion0° 18m 21.96s / day
Inclination6.5666°
Longitude of ascending node37.160°
358.26°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions7.25±0.30 km[4]
7.47 km (calculated)[3]
8.323±0.066 km[5]
Rotation period5.7491±0.0008 h[6]
5.776±0.005 h[lower-alpha 1]
Geometric albedo0.2131±0.0373[5]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
0.307±0.039[4]
S[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)12.8[1][3] · 12.7[5] · 12.7[4] · 12.522±0.001 (R)[6] · 12.92±0.21[7]


3133 Sendai, provisional designation A907 TC, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 October 1907, by German astronomer August Kopff at Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany.[8] The asteroid was named for the Japanese city of Sendai.[2]

Orbit and classification

Sendai is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,176 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

Physical characteristics

Sendai has been characterized as a stony S-type asteroid.[3]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and its extended NEOWISE mission, the asteroid's surface has an albedo of 0.21 and 0.31, with a diameter of 8.3 and 7.3 kilometers, respectively.[4][5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an intermediate albedo of 0.24 – which derives from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a concurring diameter of 7.5 kilometers.[3]

Lightcurves

In 2010, two rotational lightcurves were obtained by amateur astronomer Ralph Megna at Goat Mountain Astronomical Research Station (G79), and by the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory in California. The concurring lightcurves showed a rotation period of 5.776±0.005 and 5.7491±0.0008 hours, respectively ({{{1}}}).[lower-alpha 1][6]

Naming

This minor planet was named for the second largest city north of Tokyo, Sendai (pop. 1 million), location of the Tōhoku University. It is the home of the Sendai Astronomical Observatory, which was founded in 1955, on appeal by the Sendai Amateur Astronomical Association. The observatory has discovered several minor planets.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 29 September 1985 (M.P.C. 10045).[9]

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Megna (2011) web: rotation period 5.776±0.005 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.19 mag. Light-curve chart at Ralph Megna's website and summary figures for (3133) Sendai at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL).

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3133 Sendai (A907 TC)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2003133. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3133) Sendai". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3133) Sendai. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 259. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3134. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "LCDB Data for (3133) Sendai". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=3133%7CSendai. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 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 11 January 2016. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 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 27 April 2016. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 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. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Bibcode2015AJ....150...75W. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2015AJ....150...75W. Retrieved 27 April 2016. 
  7. 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 27 April 2016. 
  8. "3133 Sendai (A907 TC)". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=3133. 
  9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html. 

External links