1761 Edmondson, provisional designation , is a dark background
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
from the outer regions of the
asteroid belt, approximately 21 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 March 1952, by the
Indiana Asteroid Program at
Goethe Link Observatory
The Goethe Link Observatory, observatory code 760, is an astronomical observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States. It is owned by Indiana University and operated by the Indiana Astronomical Society https://iasindy.org/about.html, which effo ...
, United States.
It was named after astronomer
Frank Edmondson.
Orbit and classification
''Edmondson'' is a
background asteroid, located near the region occupied by the
Themis family, a dynamical family of
outer-belt asteroids with nearly coplanar
ecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun in the
outer main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.9
AU once every 5 years and 8 months (2,068 days). Its orbit has an
eccentricity of 0.23 and an
inclination of 2
° with respect to the ecliptic.
It was first identified as at
Konkoly Observatory in 1940. The body's
observation arc begins with its identification as at
McDonald Observatory in 1950, or 2 years prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.
Physical characteristics
''Edmondson'' has been characterized as a carbonaceous
C-type asteroid.
Rotation period
In November 2012, a rotational
lightcurve of ''Edmondson'' was obtained from photometric observations at the Etscorn Campus Observatory () in New Mexico, United States. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined
rotation period
The rotation period of a celestial object (e.g., star, gas giant, planet, moon, asteroid) may refer to its sidereal rotation period, i.e. the time that the object takes to complete a single revolution around its axis of rotation relative to the ...
of 4.208 hours with a brightness variation of 0.29
magnitude ().
Diameter and albedo
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese
Akari satellite, ''Edmondson'' measures 21.94 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an
albedo of 0.102,
while the ''Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link'' assumes a more typical albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 20.51 kilometers with an
absolute magnitude of 11.8.
Naming
This
minor planet was named for astronomer
Frank K. Edmondson
Frank Kelley Edmondson (August 1, 1912 – December 8, 2008) was an American astronomer.
Life and career
Edmondson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Seymour, Indiana. He graduated from Indiana University in 1933 and received a fel ...
(1912–2008) of
Indiana University, the program's founder and director.
The official was published by the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Function
...
on 20 February 1971 ().
References
External links
Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB) query form
)
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names Google books
– Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
– Minor Planet Center
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmondson
001761
001761
Named minor planets
19520330