2044 Wirt

2044 Wirt
Discovery [1]
Discovered by C. A. Wirtanen
Discovery site Lick Observatory
Discovery date 8 November 1950
Designations
MPC designation 2044 Wirt
Named after
 Carl Wirtanen
(discoverer himself)[2]
1950 VE
Mars-crosser · Phocaea [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 64.75 yr (23649 days)
Aphelion 3.1987 AU (478.52 Gm)
Perihelion 1.5631 AU (233.84 Gm)
2.3809 AU (356.18 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.34348
3.67 yr (1341.9 d)
252.35°
0° 16m 5.772s / day
Inclination 23.968°
53.655°
50.435°
Known satellites 1 [4][5]
(diameter: 2 km)
(orbit: 18.9 hours)
Earth MOID 0.654366 AU (97.8918 Gm)
Jupiter MOID 2.34329 AU (350.551 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter 3.346
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 6.66 km[6]
6.65 km (calculated)[3]
Mean radius
 3.33 ± 0.3 km
3.6898 h (0.15374 d)[1][7]
3.6900±0.0003 h[8]
3.690±0.00005 h[4]
3.6895±0.0003 h[9]
0.1907 ± 0.038[1][6]
0.23 (assumed)[3]
S [3]
13.1

    2044 Wirt, provisional designation 1950 VE, is an eccentric, stony, and binary asteroid classified as a Mars-crosser. It was discovered by American astronomer Carl Wirtanen at Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, California on 8 November 1950.[10]

    It measures about 7 kilometers in diameter and is a member of the Phocaea family of asteroids. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.6–3.2 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,342 days). Its orbit shows a high eccentricity of 0.34 and is heavily tilted by 24 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. The S-type minor planet has an albedo of 0.191[6] and a rotation period of 3.69 hours.[7][8]

    In 2005, photometric observations of its light-curve confirmed the presence a 2-kilometer sized satellite, which gives the binary asteroid a diameter ratio of 0.25. The moon's orbital period is 18.97 hours.[4][5][7]

    It was named after American astronomer Carl A. Wirtanen (1910–1990), known for his discovery of several comets and minor planets and for his long-time contribution to astrometric and several other programs of the Lick Observatory, notably the Shane-Wirtanen survey of galaxies and the proper-motion program with respect to galaxies.[2] 2044 Wirt is one of the rare cases where the asteroid had been named after its discoverer.

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2044 Wirt (1950 VE)" (2015-08-22 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2044) Wirt. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 166. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved November 2015.
    3. 1 2 3 4 "LCDB Data for (2044) Wirt". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved November 2015.
    4. 1 2 3 Pravec, P.; Scheirich, P.; Vokrouhlický, D.; Harris, A. W.; Kusnirák, P.; Hornoch, K.; et al. (March 2012). "Binary asteroid population. 2. Anisotropic distribution of orbit poles of small, inner main-belt binaries". Icarus 218 (1): 125–143. Bibcode:2012Icar..218..125P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.11.026. Retrieved November 2015.
    5. 1 2 "Electronic Telegram No. 353". IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 2006-01-06. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
    6. 1 2 3 Tedesco, E. F.; Noah, P. V.; Noah, M.; Price, S. D. (October 2004). "IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0". NASA Planetary Data System. Bibcode:2004PDSS...12.....T. Retrieved November 2015.
    7. 1 2 3 Pray, D.; Pravec, P.; Kusnirak, P.; Cooney, W.; Gross, J.; Terrell, D.; et al. (January 2006). "(2044) Wirt". Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. Bibcode:2006CBET..353....1P. Retrieved November 2015.
    8. 1 2 Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (2044) Wirt". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved November 2015.
    9. ↑ 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 November 2015.
    10. ↑ "2044 Wirt (1950 VE)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved November 2015.

    External links


    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.