2598 Merlin, provisional designation , is a carbonaceous Dorian
asteroid from the central regions of the
asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies, of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, c ...
, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 7 September 1980, by American astronomer
Edward Bowell
Edward L. G. "Ted" Bowell (born 1943 in London), is an American astronomer. Bowell was educated at Emanuel School London, University College, London, and the University of Paris.
He was principal investigator of the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth ...
at Lowell's
Anderson Mesa Station
Anderson Mesa Station is an astronomical observatory established in 1959 as a dark-sky observing site for Lowell Observatory. It is located at Anderson Mesa in Coconino County, Arizona, about 12 miles southeast of Lowell's main campus on Mars H ...
in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States.
The asteroid was named after the legendary wizard
Merlin in Arthurian legend.
Classification and orbit
''Merlin'' is a member of the
Dora family
An asteroid family is a population of asteroids that share similar proper orbital elements, such as semimajor axis, eccentricity, and orbital inclination. The members of the families are thought to be fragments of past asteroid collisions. An ...
(), a well-established central
asteroid family of more than 1,200 carbonaceous asteroids. The family's namesake is
668 Dora. It is alternatively known as the "Zhongolovich family", named after its presumably largest member
1734 Zhongolovich. The Dora family may also contain a subfamily.
''Merlin'' orbits the Sun in the
central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.4
AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,694 days). Its orbit has an
eccentricity
Eccentricity or eccentric may refer to:
* Eccentricity (behavior), odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal"
Mathematics, science and technology Mathematics
* Off-Centre (geometry), center, in geometry
* Eccentricity (g ...
of 0.22 and an
inclination
Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object.
For a satellite orbiting the Eart ...
of 8
° with respect to the
ecliptic
The ecliptic or ecliptic plane is the orbital plane of the Earth around the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on Earth, the Sun's movement around the celestial sphere over the course of a year traces out a path along the ecliptic agains ...
.
In Nombember 1948, the asteroid was first identified at
Uccle Observatory
The Royal Observatory of Belgium (french: link=no, Observatoire Royal de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Sterrenwacht van België), has been situated in the Uccle municipality of Brussels (Belgium) since 1890. It was first established in Saint-Josse ...
, where the body's
observation arc
In observational astronomy, the observation arc (or arc length) of a Solar System body is the time period between its earliest and latest observations, used for tracing the body's path. It is usually given in days or years. The term is mostly use ...
begins 32 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.
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 ...
, ''Merlin'' a Ch-type asteroid, a hydrated subtype of the broader carbonaceous
C-complex.
According to the surveys carried out by the
NEOWISE
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE, observatory code C51, Explorer 92 and SMEX-6) is a NASA infrared astronomy space telescope in the Explorers Program. It was launched in December 2009, and placed in hibernation mode in February 201 ...
mission of NASA's
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE, observatory code C51, Explorer 92 and SMEX-6) is a NASA infrared astronomy space telescope in the Explorers Program. It was launched in December 2009, and placed in hibernation mode in February 201 ...
, ''Merlin'' measures 15.694 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an
albedo
Albedo (; ) is the measure of the diffuse reflection of solar radiation out of the total solar radiation and measured on a scale from 0, corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation, to 1, corresponding to a body that refl ...
of 0.049.
Lightcurves
As of 2017, no rotational
lightcurve
In astronomy, a light curve is a graph of light intensity of a celestial object or region as a function of time, typically with the magnitude of light received on the y axis and with time on the x axis. The light is usually in a particular freq ...
of ''Merlin'' has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's
rotation period and shape remain unknown.
Naming
This
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...
was named after the sage and sorcerer
Merlin, featured mentor of
King Arthur in
Arthurian legend
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
and
medieval Welsh poetry. His magic enabled Arthur to pull
Excalibur
Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
from the rock and become the ''rightwise king born of all England''. The name was suggested by F. Pilcher.
The approved naming citation was published by the
Minor Planet Center on 4 August 1982 ().
Notes
There is a book titled Merlin's Tour of the Universe, in which a fictitious character, called Merlin, answers all curious questions a layman would have about astronomy and the solar system. In the book, Merlin's favorite asteroid is Merlin 2598.
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:Merlin
002598
Discoveries by Edward L. G. Bowell
Named minor planets
002598
19800907