51827 Laurelclark (
provisional designation ) is a 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 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 July 2001, by astronomers of the
Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at
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, United States. The asteroid was named for astronaut
Laurel Clark, who died in the
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
The Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster was a fatal accident in the United States space program that occurred on February 1, 2003. During the STS-107 mission, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere over Texa ...
.
Orbit and classification
Laurelclark is a non-
family asteroid from the main belt's
background population.
It orbits the Sun in the
outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.6–3.5
AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,928 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 3.03 AU). Its orbit has an
eccentricity of 0.15 and an
inclination of 10
° with respect to the
ecliptic.
The body's
observation arc begins with its first observation by
Spacewatch at
Kitt Peak National Observatory in October 1991, almost 10 years prior to its official discovery observation by NEAT at Palomar.
Physical characteristics
Rotation period
As of 2017, no rotational
lightcurve of Laurelclark has been obtained from photometric observations. The asteroid's
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 ...
, poles and shape remain unknown.
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the
NEOWISE mission of NASA's
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Laurelclark measures 6.005 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an
albedo of 0.162.
Naming
This
minor planet was named after American astronaut and mission specialist
Laurel Clark (1961–2003), who was killed in the
reentry disaster of
Space Shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003. 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 6 August 2003 ().
The following asteroids were named in memory of the other six members of
STS-107:
51823 Rickhusband,
51824 Mikeanderson,
51825 Davidbrown,
51826 Kalpanachawla,
51828 Ilanramon and
51829 Williemccool.
References
External links
NASA JPL - Space Shuttle Columbia Tribute page
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:Laurelclark
051827
051827
Named minor planets
20010720