2029 Binomi, provisional designation ', is a Vestian

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 inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 11 September 1969, by Paul Wild at

Zimmerwald Observatory The Zimmerwald Observatory (german: Observatorium Zimmerwald) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the AIUB, the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern. Built in 1956, it is located at Zimmerwald, 10 kilometers south of B ...

near Bern, Switzerland. It was named for the fictitious mathematician "Alessandro Binomi" who invented the binomial formula.

Classification and orbit

''Binomi'' is a member of the Vesta family, one of the largest collisional populations of the inner asteroid belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,316 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 6 ° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins at

Crimea–Nauchnij The Crimean Astrophysical Observatory (CrAO, obs. code: 095) is located at Nauchnij research campus, near the Central Crimean city of Bakhchysarai, on the Crimean peninsula. CrAO is often called simply by its location and campus name, ...

on 10 September 1969, the night before its official discovery observation at Zimmerwald.

Physical characteristics

In the

SMASS classification An asteroid spectral type is assigned to asteroids based on their emission spectrum, color, and sometimes albedo. These types are thought to correspond to an asteroid's surface composition. For small bodies that are not internally differentiat ...

, ''Binomi'' is a stony S-type asteroid.

Lightcurves

In January 2014, two rotational lightcurves of ''Binomi'' were obtained from photometric observations in the R-band by astronomers at the

Palomar Transient Factory The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF, obs. code: I41), was an astronomical survey using a wide-field survey camera designed to search for optical transient and variable sources such as variable stars, supernovae, asteroids and comets. The projec ...

in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a

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 3.7555 and 3.756 hours with a brightness variation of 0.51 and 0.52 magnitude, respectively ().

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, ''Binomi'' measures 6.893 and 7.050 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.2468 and 0.257, respectively. The ''Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link'' assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from

8 Flora Flora (minor planet designation: 8 Flora) is a large, bright main-belt asteroid. It is the innermost ''large'' asteroid: no asteroid closer to the Sun has a diameter above 25 kilometres (20% that of Flora), and not until 20-km 149 Medusa was dis ...

, the largest member and namesake of its family – and calculates a diameter of 5.39 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.51.

Naming

This minor planet was named for the fictitious mathematician "Alessandro Binomi", inventor of the binomial formula. This act of

parody science Parody science, sometimes called spoof science, is the act of mocking science in a satirical way. Science can be parodied for a purpose, ranging from social commentary and making political points, to humor for its own sake. Parody science is diffe ...

was common among students at German-speaking universities ( :de:Binomi). The real inventors of the binomial formula are the Bernoullis, after whom the asteroid 2034 Bernoulli was named. The approved naming citation 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 1 August 1981 ().

References

External links

Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)
query form

)
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
Google books

– Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend

– Minor Planet Center * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Binomi 002029 Discoveries by Paul Wild (Swiss astronomer) Named minor planets 002029 19690911