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Hildian asteroid From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2067 Aksnes, provisional designation 1936 DD, is a rare-type Hildian asteroid from the outermost region of the asteroid belt, approximately 44 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 23 February 1936, by Finnish astronomer Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in Southwest Finland.[9] It was named after astronomer Kaare Aksnes.[2]
Discovery[1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Y. Väisälä |
Discovery site | Turku Obs. |
Discovery date | 23 February 1936 |
Designations | |
(2067) Aksnes | |
Named after | Kaare Aksnes (Norwegian astronomer)[2] |
1936 DD · 1951 AG 1965 UV · 1971 QH2 1973 UR2 · 1975 BD1 | |
main-belt · Hilda[3] | |
Orbital characteristics[1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 81.03 yr (29,596 days) |
Aphelion | 4.6834 AU |
Perihelion | 3.2440 AU |
3.9637 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1816 |
7.89 yr (2,882 days) | |
191.29° | |
0° 7m 29.64s / day | |
Inclination | 3.0798° |
150.24° | |
297.33° | |
Jupiter MOID | 0.5866 AU |
TJupiter | 3.0270 |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 42.53 km (derived)[3] 42.59±2.0 km (IRAS:4)[4] 46.003±0.761 km[1][5] 49.26±1.96 km[6] |
17.75 h[7] | |
0.049±0.004[6] 0.05±0.01[3][5] 0.054±0.003[1][5] 0.0562 (derived)[3] 0.0626±0.006 (IRAS:4)[4] | |
Tholen = P[1] · P[3] · D[5] B–V = 0.658[1] U–B = 0.240[1] | |
10.48[6] · 10.48 (IRAS:4)[1][4] · 10.55±0.24[8] · 10.60[3][7] | |
Aksnes is a member of the Hilda family, the outermost orbital group of asteroids in the main-belt, that are thought to have originated from the Kuiper belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.2–4.7 AU once every 7 years and 11 months (2,882 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The asteroid's observation arc begins on its discovery night at Turku, the first used observation.[9] As all Hildian asteroids orbit in a 3:2 orbital resonance with the gas giant Jupiter, meaning that for every 2 orbits Jupiter completes around the Sun, they will complete 3 orbits,[1] this asteroid's orbit does not cross the path of any of the planets and therefore it will not be pulled out of orbit by Jupiter's gravitational field. As a result of this, it is likely that the asteroid will remain in a stable orbit for thousands of years.
The dark and reddish asteroid is characterized as a rare P-type and D-type asteroid in the Tholen classification and by the NEOWISE mission, respectively.[5] Of either type only a few dozens bodies are currently known to exist in the Tholen and SMASS taxonomy.[10][11]
During a photometric survey of Hildian asteroids in the 1990s, a rotational lightcurve was obtained of Aksnes by Swedish, German and Italian observatories . The lightcurve gave a rotation period of 17.75 hours with a brightness variation of 0.24 in magnitude (U=2).[7]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS, the Japanese Akari satellite, and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Aksnes measures between 42.5 and 49.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a low albedo between 0.049 and 0.063.[1][4][5][6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.056 and a diameter of 42.5 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 10.6.[3]
This minor planet was named in honor of Norwegian astronomer Kaare Aksnes (born 1938), a celestial mechanician who worked at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in the 1970s.[2]
Aksnes is known for his studies of artificial and natural satellites, in particular for his research on the Galilean satellites, the four largest moons of Jupiter, namely Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 September 1978 (M.P.C. 4482).[12]