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Main belt asteroid From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
4606 Saheki, provisional designation 1987 UM1, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter.
.png) Lightcurve-based 3D-model of Saheki | |
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | T. Seki |
| Discovery site | Geisei Obs. |
| Discovery date | 27 October 1987 |
| Designations | |
| (4606) Saheki | |
Named after | Tsuneo Saheki (astronomer)[2] |
| 1987 UM1 · 1972 GA1 1977 TJ7 · 1977 VF2 1982 FH4 | |
| main-belt · Flora [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.81 yr (23,305 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4805 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0231 AU |
| 2.2518 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1016 |
| 3.38 yr (1,234 days) | |
| 202.74° | |
| 0° 17m 30.12s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.6338° |
| 241.26° | |
| 251.92° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.655±0.069[4] 6.712±0.041 km[5] 7.14 km (calculated)[3] |
| 4.969±0.003 h[lower-alpha 1] 4.97347±0.00005 h[6] 5.032±0.001 h[7] | |
| 0.24 (assumed)[3] 0.3266±0.0245[5] 0.332±0.088[4] | |
| S [3] | |
| 12.7[5] · 13.0[1][3] · 13.35±0.32[8] | |
The asteroid was discovered on 27 October 1987, by Japanese astronomer Tsutomu Seki at Geisei Observatory, Japan.[9] It was later named after Japanese astronomer Tsuneo Saheki.[2]
Saheki is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest families of stony asteroids. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,234 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at Palomar Observatory in 1953, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 34 years prior to its discovery.[9]
In January 2009, a rotational lightcurve of Saheki was obtained from photometric observations by David Higgins at Hunters Hill Observatory, Australia. Lightcurve analysis rendered a well-defined rotation period of 4.969 hours with a brightness variation of 0.56 in magnitude (U=3).[lower-alpha 1]
Two months later, in March 2009, a second lightcurve was obtained at the Via Capote Observatory (G69), California. It gave a period of 5.032 and an amplitude of 0.68 in magnitude (U=3-).[7]
In 2013, an international study modeled a lightcurve with a concurring period of 4.97347 hours and found a spin axis of (44.0°, 59.0°) and (222.0°, 68.0°) in ecliptic coordinates (λ, β), respectively (Q=2).[6]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Saheki has a high albedo of 0.33 and a diameter of 6.7 kilometers,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link calculates a diameter of 7.1 kilometers, based on an assumed albedo of 0.24, derived from 8 Flora, the Flora family's namesake and largest member.[3]
This minor planet was named after Japanese astronomer and president of the Toa Astronomical Society, Tsuneo Saheki (1916–1996). Over half a century, Saheki as gathered large inventory of observational data of the planet Mars.[2] The Martian crater Saheki is also named in his honour. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 May 1991 (M.P.C. 18308).[10]
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