Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | P. Wild |
Discovery site | Zimmerwald Obs. |
Discovery date | 25 October 1973 |
Designations | |
(2037) Tripaxeptalis | |
Named after | Tripaxeptalis (fantasy name) (3 × 679 Pax = 7 × 291 Alice) [2] |
1973 UB · A917 SN | |
main-belt · Flora [3] | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 ( JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 43.52 yr (15,894 days) |
Aphelion | 2.6046 AU |
Perihelion | 1.9996 AU |
2.3021 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1314 |
3.49 yr (1,276 days) | |
235.93 ° | |
0° 16m 55.92s / day | |
Inclination | 4.2509° |
9.5018° | |
346.18° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 5.956±0.213 km
[4]
[5] 6.21 km (calculated) [3] |
2.33±0.01 h [6] | |
0.198±0.032
[4]
[5] 0.24 (assumed) [3] | |
S [3] | |
13.2 [1] [3] · 13.44±0.12 [7] · 13.5 [4] | |
2037 Tripaxeptalis, provisional designation 1973 UB, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 25 October 1973, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland. [8] The asteroid's constructed name "Tripaxeptalis" derives from a numbers game with the asteroids 679 Pax and 291 Alice. [2]
Tripaxeptalis is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest collisional populations of stony asteroids. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,276 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 4 ° with respect to the ecliptic. [1]
In September 1917, the asteroid was first identified as A917 SN at Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Zimmerwald. [8]
In January 2006, a rotational lightcurve of Tripaxeptalis was obtained from photometric observations by astronomer Adrián Galád at Modra Observatory in Slovakia. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 2.33 hours with a brightness variation of 0.10 magnitude ( U=2). The ambiguous lightcurve gave an alternative period solution of 2.23 hours and an amplitude of 0.10. [6]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Tripaxeptalis measures 5.956 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.198. [4] [5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of its family – and calculates a diameter of 6.21 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.2. [3]
This minor planet's constructed name "Tripaxeptalis" (tri–Pax–hepta–Alice) refers to the fact that its number, 2037, matches 3 × 679 Pax as well as 7 × 291 Alice. [2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 June 1980 ( M.P.C. 5359). [9]