2026 Cottrell

2026 Cottrell, provisional designation 1955 FF, is a dark asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter.

2026 Cottrell

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program)
Discovery site	Goethe Link Obs.
Discovery date	30 March 1955
Designations
MPC designation	(2026) Cottrell
Named after	Frederick Gardner Cottrell (American chemist)[2]
Alternative designations	1955 FF · 1951 EL1 1972 TE1
Minor planet category	main-belt · (inner) [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	66.15 yr (24,163 days)
Aphelion	2.7290 AU
Perihelion	2.1638 AU
Semi-major axis	2.4464 AU
Eccentricity	0.1155
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.83 yr (1,398 days)
Mean anomaly	135.21°
Mean motion	0° 15m 27.36s / day
Inclination	2.4510°
Longitude of ascending node	311.10°
Argument of perihelion	211.67°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	7.46 km (calculated)[3] 11.43±2.35 km[4] 13.19±0.55 km[5] 13.97±7.02 km[6] 14.279±0.071 km[7][8]
Synodic rotation period	4.499±0.0014 h[9] 4.499±0.0010 h[9] 4.4994±0.0004 h[10]
Geometric albedo	0.050±0.005[7][8] 0.063±0.053[6] 0.07±0.10[4] 0.088±0.009[5] 0.20 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	S [3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.8[5][7] · 12.90[6] · 12.964±0.002 (R)[9] · 13.0[1][3] · 13.15±0.90[11] · 13.18[4]

The asteroid was discovered on 30 March 1955, by IU's Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States.^[12] It was named after American chemist Frederick Gardner Cottrell.^[2]

Orbit and classification

Cottrell orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,398 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1]

In March 1951, the asteroid was identified as 1951 EL₁ at Nice Observatory and two days later at McDonald Observatory, extending the body's observation arc by four years prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.^[12]

Physical characteristics

Lightcurves

Two rotational lightcurve of Cottrell were obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Analysis gave an identical rotation period of 4.499 hours for both lightcurves and a brightness variation of 0.42 and 0.44 magnitude, respectively (U=2/2).^[9]

In February 2012, photometry at the Etscorn Campus Observatory (719), New Mexico, gave a well-defined period of 4.4994 hours with an amplitude of 0.77 magnitude, which indicates that the body has a non-spheroidal shape (U=3).^[10]

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Cottrell measures between 11.43 and 14.279 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.050 and 0.088.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and consequently calculates a much smaller diameter of 7.46 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.0.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after American chemist Frederick Gardner Cottrell (1877–1948), who was a benefactor of the minor planet program at the discovering Goethe Link Observatory.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 November 1978 (M.P.C. 4547).^[13]

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2026 Cottrell (1955 FF)" (2017-05-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2026) Cottrell". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2026) Cottrell. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 164. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2027. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. "LCDB Data for (2026) Cottrell". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 3 July 2017.
4. Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Kramer, E. A.; Grav, T.; et al. (September 2016). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Two: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (3): 12. arXiv:1606.08923. Bibcode:2016AJ....152...63N. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/63.
5. Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
6. Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. S2CID 46350317. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
7. 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. S2CID 35447010.
8. 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. S2CID 118745497. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
9. 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. S2CID 8342929. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
10. Klinglesmith, Daniel A., III (July 2012). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Etscorn Campus Observatory for January and February 2012". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 39 (3): 109–110. Bibcode:2012MPBu...39..109K. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 3 July 2017.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. 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. S2CID 53493339. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
12. "2026 Cottrell (1955 FF)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
13. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2009). "Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 221. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4. ISBN 978-3-642-01964-7.