9983 Rickfienberg

9983 Rickfienberg

Orbits of 9983 Rickfienberg (blue), inner planets (red) and Jupiter (outermost)
Discovery [1]
Discovered by Dennis di Cicco
Discovery site Sudbury Obs. (817)
Discovery date 19 February 1995
Designations
MPC designation 9983 Rickfienberg
Named after
 Richard Tresch Fienberg
(astronomer, editor)[2]
1995 DA · 1987 KS2
1993 TS37
main-belt · (outer) [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 28.53 yr (10,420 days)    
Aphelion 3.0201 AU
Perihelion 2.3949 AU
2.7075 AU
Eccentricity 0.1154
4.46 yr (1,627 days)
290.59°
Inclination 8.3211°
49.224°
7.0685°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 7.444±0.280 km[4]
12.18 km (calculated)[3]
5.2963±0.0001 h[5]
0.1672±0.0352[4]
0.057 (assumed)[3]
C [3]
13.3[1][3]
13.2[4]

    9983 Rickfienberg, provisional designation 1995 DA, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, roughly 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 February 1995, by American astronomer Dennis di Cicco at his private Sudbury Observatory (817), Massachusetts, United States.[6]

    The dark C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.4–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 6 months (1,627 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 8 degrees from the plane of the ecliptic.[1]

    During the asteroid's opposition in November 2011, a photometric light-curve analysis at Kitt Peak Observatory rendered a rotation period of 5.2963±0.0001 hours with a high brightness amplitude of 1.3 in magnitude,[5] typically indicating an non-spheroidal shape. According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the body's surface has an albedo of 0.17 and a corresponding diameter of 7.4 kilometers, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes a standard albedo of 0.08 with a calculated larger diameter of 12.2 kilometers, as the lower the body's albedo (reflectivity), the larger its diameter, for a given absolute magnitude (brightness).[3][4]

    The minor planet was named after American astronomer Richard Tresch Fienberg (b. 1956) at Rice and Harvard universities, who became editor of Sky & Telescope, after which the minor planet 3243 Skytel is named. As the fourth at the helm in the magazine’s six-decade history, he says it’s a dream job that conflicts with stargazing at his private observatory in New Hampshire.[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 9983 Rickfienberg (1995 DA)" (2015-12-09 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved January 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (9983) Rickfienberg, Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 49. ISBN 978-3-540-34360-8. Retrieved January 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LCDB Data for (9983) Rickfienberg". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved January 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved January 2016.
    5. 1 2 Tatge, Coty B.; Odden, Caroline, E.; Arion, Douglas N.; Feinberg, Richard Tresch (July 2012). "Spectrophotometric Classification and Lightcurve Analysis of 9983 Rickfienberg". The Minor Planet Bulletin 39 (3): 135–136. Bibcode:2012MPBu...39..135T. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved January 2016.
    6. ↑ "9983 Rickfienberg (1995 DA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved January 2016.

    External links


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