Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | E. F. Helin |
Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
Discovery date | 6 February 1989 |
Designations | |
(5208) Royer | |
Named after | Msgr Ronald E. Royer
[1] (American priest and amateur astronomer) |
1989 CH1 | |
main-belt
[1]
[2] · (
middle) Maria [3] | |
Orbital characteristics [2] | |
Epoch 23 March 2018 ( JD 2458200.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 64.29 yr (23,481 d) |
Aphelion | 2.7241 AU |
Perihelion | 2.4844 AU |
2.6042 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.0460 |
4.20 yr (1,535 d) | |
345.72 ° | |
0° 14m 4.2s / day | |
Inclination | 15.904° |
124.56° | |
21.407° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 7.884±0.150
km
[4] 8.081±0.121 km [5] 9.40 km (calculated) [6] |
3.866
h
[7] 3.88494±0.00005 h [8] | |
0.20 (assumed)
[6] 0.270±0.059 [5] 0.2854±0.0197 [4] | |
SMASS = S [2] [6] | |
12.5
[4]
[6] 12.6 [2] | |
5208 Royer ( prov. designation: 1989 CH1) is a stony Marian asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers (5 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 6 February 1989, by astronomer Eleanor Helin at the Palomar Observatory. The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 3.87 hours and was named after American priest and amateur astronomer, Ronald Royer. [1] [6]
Royer is a member of the Maria family ( 506), [3] a large family of stony asteroids with nearly 3,000 known members. [9]: 23
It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.5–2.7 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,535 days; semi-major axis of 2.6 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.05 and an inclination of 16 ° with respect to the ecliptic. [2] The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in November 1953, more than 35 years prior to its official discovery observation. [1]
This minor planet was named after Reverend Ronald E. Royer, an American priest as well as amateur astronomer and astrophotographer. [1] He has been a member of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS) since 1946 and received the G. Bruce Blair Award in 2001. [10] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 6 April 1993 ( M.P.C. 21957). [11]
In the SMASS classification, Royer is a common, stony S-type asteroid. [2] [6]
In 2004, a rotational lightcurve of Royer was obtained from photometric observations by Brazilian and Argentine astronomers. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 3.866 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.44 magnitude ( U=2). [7] In 2016, a modeled lightcurves using photometric data from various sources, rendered a sidereal period of 3.88494 and two spin axes of (258.0°, 74.0°) and (54.0°, 37.0°) in ecliptic coordinates. [8]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Royer measures 7.884 and 8.081 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.2854 and 0.270, respectively, [4] [5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 9.40 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.5. [6]