Astronomy:4148 McCartney
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory |
| Discovery date | 7 March 1935 |
| Designations | |
| 4148 | |
| Named after | Paul McCartney (bassist, keyboardist, The Beatles) |
| 1935 EH, 1952 HT1, 1983 NT, & 1984 YM1 | |
| Minor planet category | main-belt · Flora |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) | |
| Observation arc | 91.08 yr (33,243 days) |
| |{{{apsis}}}|helion}} | 2.463 AU |
| |{{{apsis}}}|helion}} | 2.026 AU |
| 2.245 | |
| Eccentricity | 0.097 |
| Orbital period | 3.36 yr (1,226 days) |
| Mean anomaly | 331.63° |
| Mean motion | 0.293° / day |
| Inclination | 5.201° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 325.5867° |
| Known satellites | 0 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.25 km |
| Rotation period | 20.737 h |
| Geometric albedo | 0.15 |
| S | |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.97 |
4148 McCartney, also known as 1935 EH, is a stony medium-sized S-type asteroid located in the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter.[1][2][3] The asteroid was discovered on 7 March 1935, using the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory by German astronomer, Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth, and the asteroid was named after British musician Paul McCartney.[1][2]
Orbit and classification
McCartney is a member of the Flora family, which is a large family of S-type asteroids that has over 13,000 known members.[4] The asteroid orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a semi-major axis of 2.24 astronomical units once every 3.36 years.[1][2] The asteroid's orbit has an eccentricity of 0.097, and an inclination of 5.2 degrees.[1][2] The asteroid has a perihelion of 2.03 astronomical units, and it has a aphelion of 2.46 astronomical units.[1][2]
Physical characteristics
Diameter and Albedo
According to the NEOWISE survey using NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope, McCartney has a diameter of 7.25 kilometers.[4] The asteroid has a albedo of 0.15, therefore it is likely darker in color, and it has a H magnitude of 12.97.[4] Although other sources like the Asteroid Lightcurve Database suggests a larger diameter of 7.89 kilometers, and a higher albedo of 0.2.[3]
Rotation period
According to the Asteroid Lightcurve Database, the asteroid McCartney has a rotational period of 20.737 hours.[3]
Naming
The asteroid was named in honor of bassist, keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, Paul McCartney (born 1942), who played the bass and guitar in the British rock band The Beatles.[1] The minor planets 8749 Beatles, 4147 Lennon, 4149 Harrison, and 4150 Starr honor the band and the other members of The Beatles. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on April 10, 1990 (M.P.C. 16248).[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "IAU Minor Planet Center Results for 4148 McCartney". https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=4148.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4148 McCartney". https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=4148%20McCartney&view=OPDA.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "LCDB Data for (4148) McCartney". https://minplanobs.org/mpinfo/php/lcdbsummaryquery.php.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Masiero, Joseph (2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". NASA ADS. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014ApJ...791..121M/abstract. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
- ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html.
External links
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