39741 Komm, 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 eccentric
Mars-crosser from the innermost regions of the
asteroid belt, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 9 January 1997, by American astronomer
Roy Tucker
Roy A. Tucker (born 1951 in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American astronomer best known for the co-discovery of near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis (formerly known as ) along with David J. Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi of the University of Hawaii. ...
at
Goodricke-Pigott Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, United States.
The asteroid was named for American
helioseismologist Rudolf Komm.
Orbit and classification
''Komm'' orbits the Sun in the
inner
Interior may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas
* ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck
* ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See
* Interior de ...
main-belt at a distance of 1.4–2.9
AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,178 days). Its orbit has an
eccentricity of 0.35 and an
inclination of 6
° with respect to the
ecliptic.
As no
precoveries were taken, the asteroid's
observation arc begins with its official discovery observation.
Physical characteristics
Rotation and shape
In October 2009, the first and so far only rotational
lightcurve of ''Komm'' was obtained by French amateur astronomer
René Roy. It 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 hours with a high brightness variation of 0.83
magnitude, indicative of a non-spheroidal shape ().
Diameter and albedo
The ''Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link'' assumes a standard
albedo for
stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 2.15 kilometers with an
absolute magnitude of 15.7.
Naming
This
minor planet was named after Rudolf Walter Komm (born 1957), an American
helioseismologist, who contributed in the study of
solar activity.
The official 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 ().
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:Komm
039741
Discoveries by Roy A. Tucker
Named minor planets
19970109