3737 Beckman

3737 Beckman, provisional designation 1983 PA, is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 8 August 1983, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the Palomar Observatory in California.^[1] The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 3.1 hours. It was named for American Chemist Arnold Beckman.^[1]

3737 Beckman

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	E. F. Helin
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	8 August 1983
Designations
MPC designation	(3737) Beckman
Named after	Arnold Orville Beckman (American chemist)[1]
Alternative designations	1983 PA
Minor planet category	Mars crosser [1][2][3]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	34.78 yr (12,703 d)
Aphelion	3.3603 AU
Perihelion	1.4512 AU
Semi-major axis	2.4057 AU
Eccentricity	0.3968
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.73 yr (1,363 d)
Mean anomaly	179.54°
Mean motion	0° 15m 50.76s / day
Inclination	20.133°
Longitude of ascending node	288.19°
Argument of perihelion	85.509°
Earth MOID	0.609 AU (237 LD)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	6.968±1.409 km[4][5] 14.36±2.87 km[6]
Synodic rotation period	3.124 h[7]
Geometric albedo	0.094[6] 0.29[4][5]
Spectral type	SMASS = S [2][8] B–V = 0.839 [2] U–B = 0.406 [2]
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.30[4][5] 12.40[2][6] 12.88[3][7]

Orbit and classification

Beckman is a member of the Mars-crossing asteroids, a dynamically unstable group between the main belt and the near-Earth populations, crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.66 AU.^[1] It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.5–3.4 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,363 days; semi-major axis of 2.41 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.40 and an inclination of 20° with respect to the ecliptic.^[2] The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar in August 1983.^[1]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Arnold Orville Beckman (1900–2004), an American chemist and inventor of the first (potentiometric) pH meter.^[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 17 August 1989 (M.P.C. 14971).^[9]

Physical characteristics

In the SMASS classification, Beckman is a common, stony S-type asteroid, the most common type in the innermost region of the Solar System.^[2][8]

Rotation period

A rotational lightcurve of Beckman was obtained from photometric observations by Polish astronomer Wiesław Wiśniewski during 1986–1987. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 3.124 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.16 magnitude (U=3).^[7]

Observations by Daniel Klinglesmith at Etscorn Campus Observatory (719) in November 2013, gave a period of 3.130 hours and an amplitude of 0.27 magnitude (U=3-).^[10] Serbian astronomer Vladimir Benishek at the Belgrade Astronomical Observatory measured a period of 3.125 hours in December 2017 (U=3-),^[11] and in March 2018, Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies (U81) in California determined a period of 3.113 (U=2).^[12][a]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Beckman measures 6.97 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.29.^[4][5] However, a 2017-WISE-study dedicated to Mars-crossing asteroids gave larger diameter of 14.36 kilometers due to a much lower albedo of 0.094.^[6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 7.89 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.88.^[3]

Sizable Mars-crosser

With an averaged diameter of 10 kilometers, Beckman is one of several "sizable" Mars-crossing asteroids such as 3581 Alvarez (13.69 km) 1065 Amundsenia (9.75 km), 1139 Atami (9.35 km), 1474 Beira (15.46 km), 1011 Laodamia (7.39 km), 1727 Mette (5.44 km), 1131 Porzia (7.13 km), 1235 Schorria (5.55 km), 985 Rosina (8.18 km), 1310 Villigera (15.24 km), and 1468 Zomba (7 km), which are smaller than the largest members of this dynamical group, namely, 132 Aethra, 323 Brucia (former Mars-crosser), 1508 Kemi, 2204 Lyyli and 512 Taurinensis, all larger than 20 kilometers.

Notes

1. Lightcurve plot of (3737) Beckman by Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies (U81) in California. Rotation period 3.113±0.002 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.08±0.01 mag. Quality code of 2 (lightcurve rating at CS3). Summary figures at the LCDB and CS3.

References

1. "3737 Beckman (1983 PA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3737 Beckman (1983 PA)" (2018-05-19 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
3. "LCDB Data for (3737) Beckman". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 5 November 2018.
4. Mainzer, A. K.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; Kramer, E. A.; Masiero, J. R.; et al. (June 2016). "NEOWISE Diameters and Albedos V1.0". NASA Planetary Data System: EAR-A-COMPIL-5-NEOWISEDIAM-V1.0. Bibcode:2016PDSS..247.....M. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
5. Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; et al. (December 2015). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year One: Preliminary Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 814 (2): 13. arXiv:1509.02522. Bibcode:2015ApJ...814..117N. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/117. S2CID 9341381.
6. Alí-Lagoa, V.; Delbo', M. (July 2017). "Sizes and albedos of Mars-crossing asteroids from WISE/NEOWISE data". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 603: 8. arXiv:1705.10263. Bibcode:2017A&A...603A..55A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629917. S2CID 119224590.
7. Wisniewski, W. Z. (March 1991). "Physical studies of small asteroids. I - Lightcurves and taxonomy of 10 asteroids". Icarus. 90 (1): 117–122. Bibcode:1991Icar...90..117W. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(91)90073-3. ISSN 0019-1035.
8. "Asteroid 3737 Beckman". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
10. Klinglesmith, Daniel A. III; Hanowell, Jess; Risley, Ethan; Turk, Janek; Vargas, Angelica; Warren, Curtis Alan (April 2014). "Asteroid Observations at the Etscorn Campus Observatory". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (2): 82–84. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41...82K. ISSN 1052-8091.
11. Benishek, Vladimir (April 2018). "Lightcurve and Rotation Period Determinations for 8 Asteroids". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 45 (2): 187–189. Bibcode:2018MPBu...45..187B. ISSN 1052-8091.
12. Stephens, Robert D. (July 2018). "Asteroids Observed from CS3: 2018 January - March". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 45 (3): 299–301. Bibcode:2018MPBu...45..299S. ISSN 1052-8091.

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google booksBehrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 3737 Beckman at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 3737 Beckman at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters