2675 Tolkien
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. Watt |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 14 April 1982 |
| Designations | |
| (2675) Tolkien | |
Named after |
|
| |
| main-belt · Flora [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 79.45 yr (29,018 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4386 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9865 AU |
| 2.2126 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1022 |
| 3.29 yr (1,202 days) | |
| 96.710° | |
| 0° 17m 58.2s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.7535° |
| 5.9040° | |
| 1.7953° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | |
| 1060±30 h[6] | |
| SMASS = S [1] · S [3] | |
| 12.10[5] · 12.2[1][3] · 12.50[4] · 12.73±0.27[7] | |
2675 Tolkien, provisional designation 1982 GB, is a stony Florian asteroid and extremely slow rotator from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in diameter. It was discovered on 14 April 1982, by British astronomer Martin Watt at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona, and later named for J. R. R. Tolkien.[2][8]
Orbit and classification
[edit]Tolkien 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 2.0–2.4 astronomical units (300,000,000–360,000,000 km; 190,000,000–220,000,000 mi) once every 3 years and 3 months (1,202 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
Physical characteristics
[edit]In the SMASS classification, Tolkien is a stony S-type asteroid.[1]
Rotation period
[edit]In February 2011, photometric observations of Tolkien were taken over the course of twenty-three nights. The obtained light curve revealed that the body is potentially an extremely slow rotator, that has an outstandingly long rotation period of 1058±30 hours, or 44 days, with a brightness amplitude of 0.1 magnitude (U=2+).[6] In addition, the body is suspected to be in a non-principal axis rotation ("tumbling").[3]
Diameter and albedo
[edit]According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the body measures 9.65 and 10.96 kilometres (6.00 and 6.81 mi), and its surface has an albedo of 0.205 and 0.213, respectively,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a diameter of 9.85 kilometres (6.12 mi) with an absolute magnitude of 12.2.[3]
Naming
[edit]This minor planet was named in honour of J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), an English writer, philologist, and Merton professor of English language at the University of Oxford. He is best known as the author of the fantasy novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien also had a lifelong interest in astronomy.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 December 1982 (M.P.C. 7474).[9]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2675 Tolkien (1982 GB)" (2017-02-24 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
- ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2675) Tolkien". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2675) Tolkien. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 219. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2676. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g "LCDB Data for (2675) Tolkien". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d 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)
- ^ a b c d 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. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. S2CID 46350317. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ a b Durkee, Russell I.; Brinsfield, James W.; Hornoch, Kamil; Kuö; nirak, Petr (October 2011). "The Long Period of 2675 Tolkien". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 38 (4): 182–183. Bibcode:2011MPBu...38..182D. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ 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 6 December 2016.
- ^ "2675 Tolkien (1982 GB)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
External links
[edit]- 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 (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- 2675 Tolkien at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 2675 Tolkien at the JPL Small-Body Database
