3737 Beckman, provisional designation ', is a stony

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. ...

and sizable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 8 August 1983, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the

Palomar Observatory Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in San Diego County, California, United States, in the Palomar Mountain Range. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observat ...

in California. The S-type asteroid has 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 3.1 hours. It was named for American Chemist

Arnold Beckman Arnold Orville Beckman (April 10, 1900 – May 18, 2004) was an American chemist, inventor, investor, and philanthropist. While a professor at California Institute of Technology, he founded Beckman Instruments based on his 1934 invention of ...

Orbit and classification

''Beckman'' is a member of the Mars-crossing asteroids, a dynamically unstable group between the main belt and the near-Earth populations, crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.66 AU. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.5–3.4 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,363 days;

semi-major axis In geometry, the major axis of an ellipse is its longest diameter: a line segment that runs through the center and both foci, with ends at the two most widely separated points of the perimeter. The semi-major axis (major semiaxis) is the long ...

of 2.41 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.40 and an inclination of 20 ° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar in August 1983.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Arnold Orville Beckman (1900–2004), an American chemist and inventor of the first (potentiometric) pH meter. 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 17 August 1989 ().

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 ...

, ''Beckman'' is a common, stony S-type asteroid, the most common type in the innermost region of the Solar System.

Rotation period

A rotational lightcurve of ''Beckman'' was obtained from photometric observations by Polish astronomer Wiesław Wiśniewski during 1986–1987. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined

of hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.16 magnitude (). Observations by Daniel Klinglesmith at Etscorn Campus Observatory in November 2013, gave a period of 3.130 hours and an amplitude of 0.27 magnitude (). Serbian astronomer Vladimir Benishek at the Belgrade Astronomical Observatory measured a period of 3.125 hours in December 2017 (), and in March 2018, Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies in California determined a period of 3.113 ().

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, ''Beckman'' measures 6.97 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.29. However, a 2017-WISE-study dedicated to Mars-crossing asteroids gave larger diameter of 14.36 kilometers due to a much lower albedo of 0.094. The ''Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link'' assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 7.89 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.88.

Sizable Mars-crosser

With an averaged diameter of 10 kilometers, ''Beckman'' is one of several "sizable" Mars-crossing asteroids such as 3581 Alvarez (13.69 km) 1065 Amundsenia (9.75 km), 1139 Atami (9.35 km), 1474 Beira (15.46 km), 1011 Laodamia (7.39 km), 1727 Mette (5.44 km), 1131 Porzia (7.13 km),

1235 Schorria 1235 Schorria ('' prov. designation:'' ), is a Hungaria asteroid, sizable Mars-crosser, and exceptionally slow rotator from the inner region of the asteroid belt. The carbonaceous C-type asteroid has an outstandingly long rotation period of ...

(5.55 km), 985 Rosina (8.18 km), 1310 Villigera (15.24 km), and 1468 Zomba (7 km), which are smaller than the largest members of this dynamical group, namely,

132 Aethra Aethra (minor planet designation: 132 Aethra) is a metallic asteroid and Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the asteroid belt. It measures approximately 40 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by James Craig Watson in 1873 and is the ...

, 323 Brucia (former Mars-crosser), 1508 Kemi, 2204 Lyyli and 512 Taurinensis, all larger than 20 kilometers.

Notes

References

External links

Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB)
query form

)
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
Google booksBehrend

– Minor Planet Center * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckman 003737 Discoveries by Eleanor F. Helin Named minor planets 003737 19830808