1961 Dufour

1961 Dufour
Discovery [1]
Discovered by P. Wild
Discovery site Zimmerwald Obs.
Discovery date 19 November 1973
Designations
MPC designation 1961 Dufour
Named after
Henri Dufour[2]
1973 WA · 1927 UM
1952 BQ1 · 1962 YG
1969 AH · 1973 SY3
main-belt · (outer)[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 53.21 yr (19436 days)
Aphelion 3.5903 AU (537.10 Gm)
Perihelion 2.8021 AU (419.19 Gm)
3.1962 AU (478.14 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.12329
5.71 yr (2087.1 d)
82.733°
 10m 20.928s / day
Inclination 6.6467°
29.588°
57.637°
Earth MOID 1.82494 AU (273.007 Gm)
Jupiter MOID 1.67964 AU (251.271 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter 3.173
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 50.31±1.6 km (IRAS:20)[1]
51.15±0.98 km[4]
50.28 km (derived)[3]
Mean radius
25.155 ± 0.8 km
15.79 h (0.658 d)[1][5]
15.7583±0.0309 h[6]
0.0402 ± 0.003 (IRAS:20)[1]
0.039±0.002[4]
0.0367 (derived)[3]
C[3]
10.7[1]

    1961 Dufour, provisional designation 1973 WA, is a large, carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, about 50 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 November 1973, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland.[7]

    The dark C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.8–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,088 days). It has a rotation period of 15.8 hours[5][6] and a low albedo of 0.040 and 0.039, based on observations made by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, and the Japanese Akari satellite, respectively, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) derives a slightly lower albedo of 0.037.[3]

    The minor planet is named after Swiss General Henri Dufour (1787–1875), who swiftly subdued the catholic cantons in the Sonderbund War of November 1847 with almost no bloodshed. He was also the founder of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography and initiated and directed the first complete geodetic survey of Switzerland.[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1961 Dufour (1973 WA)" (2015-11-12 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1961) Dufour. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 158. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved October 2015.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (1961) Dufour". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved December 2015.
    4. 1 2 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. Retrieved December 2015.
    5. 1 2 Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves (1961) Dufour". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved October 2015.
    6. 1 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. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved December 2015.
    7. "1961 Dufour (1973 WA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved October 2015.

    External links


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