1827 Atkinson

1827 Atkinson

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	Indiana Asteroid Program
Discovery site	Goethe Link Obs.
Discovery date	7 September 1962
Designations
MPC designation	1827 Atkinson
Named after	Robert d'Escourt Atkinson[2]
Alternative names	1962 RK · 1931 VC 1955 FL · 1967 TL 1973 EQ
Minor planet category	main-belt
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	84.11 yr (30720 days)
Aphelion	3.1920 AU (477.52 Gm)
Perihelion	2.2289 AU (333.44 Gm)
Semi-major axis	2.7105 AU (405.49 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.17765
Orbital period	4.46 yr (1629.9 d)
Mean anomaly	271.16°
Mean motion	0° 13^m 15.132^s / day
Inclination	4.5215°
Longitude of ascending node	220.56°
Argument of perihelion	239.50°
Earth MOID	1.24954 AU (186.929 Gm)
Jupiter MOID	2.00551 AU (300.020 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter	3.336
Physical characteristics
Rotation period	3.757 h (0.1565 d)
Spectral type	BV = 0.807 mag tholen = Du
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.39

1827 Atkinson, provisional designation 1962 RK, is the main-belt asteroid, discovered by the Indiana Asteroid Program at the U.S. Goethe Link Observatory on September 7, 1962.

The low albedo D-type asteroid is a rare member of the Tholen Du-type subcategory, which includes the main-belt asteroid 267 Tirza and the two Jupiter trojans 588 Achilles and 2223 Sarpedon.

Named in honor of British astronomer, physicist and inventor, Robert d'Escourt Atkinson (1898–1982), noted for his contributions to fundamental astronomy. Atkinson pioneered in studying nuclear energy-generation in the Sun and stars.^[2]

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1827 Atkinson (1962 RK)" (2015-09-15 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1827) Atkinson. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 146. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved October 2015.

External links

• "1827 Atkinson (1962 RK)". JPL Small-Body Database. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. SPK-ID: 2001827.
• 1827 Atkinson at the JPL Small-Body Database

• Discovery · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters