116903 Jeromeapt
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J. W. Young |
| Discovery site | Table Mountain Obs. |
| Discovery date | 11 April 2004 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 116903 Jeromeapt |
Named after | Jerome Apt (astronaut)[2] |
| 2004 GW · 2001 RS104 | |
| main-belt | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 15.03 yr (5,488 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.8742 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0257 AU |
| 2.4500 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1732 |
| 3.83 yr (1,401 days) | |
| 59.622° | |
| 0° 15m 25.2s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.5341° |
| 147.08° | |
| 128.87° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1 km (calculated at 0.20)[3] |
| 17.3[1] | |
|
| |
116903 Jeromeapt, provisional designation 2004 GW, is an asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 1 kilometer in diameter. It was discovered on 11 April 2004, by American astronomer James Whitney Young at the U.S. Table Mountain Observatory near Wrightwood, California.[2]
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,401 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at Steward Observatory in 2002, extending the asteroid's observation arc by more than 2 years prior to its discovery.[2] As of 2016, the asteroid's effective size, its composition and albedo, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1]
Based on an absolute magnitude of 17.3,[1] the asteroid is calculated to measure between 1 and 2 kilometers in diameter, assuming an albedo in the range of 0.05 to 0.25.[3] Since asteroids in the inner main-belt are often of a silicaceous rather than of a carbonaceous composition, with higher albedos, typically around 0.20, the asteroid's diameter might be on the lower end of NASA's published conversion table, as the higher the body's reflectivity (albedo), the smaller its diameter at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).[3]
The minor planet is named in honor of American Jerome Apt (b. 1949), who was the discovering observatory's director and also an astronaut on 4 Space Shuttle missions in the 1990s. At the time of naming this asteroid, he was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.[2] Naming citation was published 29 October 2012 (M.P.C. 81070).[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 116903 Jeromeapt (2004 GW)" (2015-02-17 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "116903 Jeromeapt (2004 GW)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- 1 2 3 "Absolute Magnitude (H)". NASA/JPL. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
External links
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (115001)-(120000) – Minor Planet Center
- 116903 Jeromeapt at the JPL Small-Body Database
