| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | G. W. Billings |
| Discovery site | Calgary Obs. ( 681) |
| Discovery date | 15 September 1999 |
| Designations | |
| (40463) Frankkameny | |
Named after |
Frank Kameny (gay rights activist) [2] |
| 1999 RE44 · 1997 EJ19 | |
|
main-belt · (
middle) background | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 ( JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 19.17 yr (7,002 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2810 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2761 AU |
| 2.7786 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1808 |
| 4.63 yr (1,692 days) | |
| 338.05 ° | |
| 0° 12m 46.08s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.4415° |
| 302.75° | |
| 32.248° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 3.855±0.638
km
[3]
[4] 4.23 km (calculated) [5] |
| 56.5554±0.2034 h [6] | |
| 0.057 (assumed)
[5] 0.075±0.028 [3] [4] | |
| C [5] [7] | |
| 15.147±0.004 (R) [6] · 15.2 [1] · 15.38±0.05 [7] · 15.5 [3] · 15.6 [5] | |
40463 Frankkameny ( provisional designation 1999 RE44) is a carbonaceous background asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 September 1999, by Canadian amateur astronomer Gary Billings at Calgary Observatory ( 681) in Alberta, Canada. The asteroid was named after American activist Frank Kameny. [2]
Orbit and classification
Frankkameny is a non- family from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.3–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,692 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 2 ° with respect to the ecliptic. [1] Frankkameny was first identified as 1997 EJ19 by Spacewatch in 1997, extending the asteroid's observation arc by more than 2 years prior to its discovery observation. [2]
Physical characteristics
Frankkameny has been characterized as a carbonaceous C-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey. [7]
Rotation period
It has a rotation period of 56.6 hours with a brightness variation of 0.51 magnitude, based on a lightcurve obtained in September 2013, from photometric observations made at the Palomar Transient Factory, California ( U=2). [6] While not being a slow rotator, Frankkameny's period is far longer than average, and its brightness amplitude is indicative of a non-spheroidal shape.
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Frankkameny measures 3.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.075, [3] [4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 4.2 kilometers. [5]
Naming
This minor planet was named in honour of American astronomer and gay rights activist Frank Kameny (1925–2011), by the Minor Planet Center and the International Astronomical Union on 3 July 2012. Frank Kameny was a Harvard-trained variable star astronomer. He died 11 October 2011. [2] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 3 July 2012 ( M.P.C. 79911). [13]
References
- ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 40463 Frankkameny (1999 RE44)" (2016-05-04 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ a b c d "40463 Frankkameny (1999 RE44)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv: 1109.6407. Bibcode: 2011ApJ...741...90M. doi: 10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
- ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv: 1109.4096. Bibcode: 2011ApJ...741...68M. doi: 10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68.
- ^ a b c d e "LCDB Data for (40463) Frankkameny". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 17 November 2016.
- ^ a b c Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv: 1504.04041. Bibcode: 2015AJ....150...75W. doi: 10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75.
- ^ a b c Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv: 1506.00762. Bibcode: 2015Icar..261...34V. doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007.
- ^ US: Gay rights campaigner Frank Kameny has asteroid named for him, Pink News, 10 July 2012
- ^ Asteroid between Mars, Jupiter named for US gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny, The Washington Post, July 10, 2012
- ^ Brett Zongker, Asteroid named for gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny, Business Week, July 10, 2012
- ^ Andrew Davis, Canadian names asteroid for Kameny; Anderson Cooper inspires Chinese, Windy City Times, 2012-07-10
- ^ Freya Petersen, Canadian astronomer names asteroid after gay rights activist Archived 15 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Alaska Dispatch, July 11, 2012
- ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
External links
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form ( info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- 40463 Frankkameny at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- 40463 Frankkameny at the JPL Small-Body Database
