3367 Alex

3367 Alex
Discovery [1]
Discovered by N. G. Thomas
Discovery site Anderson Mesa Stn.
Discovery date 15 February 1983
Designations
MPC designation 3367 Alex
Named after
 Alex R. Baltutis
(discoverer's family)[2]
1983 CA3 · 1953 XM
1971 SH2 · 1981 UQ9
1981 UW15
main-belt · (middle)[3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 62.53 yr (22,839 days)
Aphelion 2.9767 AU
Perihelion 2.5907 AU
2.7837 AU
Eccentricity 0.0693
4.64 yr (1,696 days)
138.22°
0° 12m 43.92s / day
Inclination 5.3198°
258.18°
237.18°
Earth MOID 1.6098 AU
Jupiter MOID 2.0829 AU
Jupiter Tisserand parameter 3.3220
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 9.607±0.124 km[4][5]
15.19±0.23 km[6]
16.96±1.11 km[7]
19.30 km (calculated)[3]
9.6±0.5 h[8]
9.6 h[8]
0.057 (assumed)[3]
0.099±0.013[7]
0.101±0.014[6][5]
0.3033±0.0538[4]
SMASS = X [1]
E [4] · X [3]
12.3[1][3] · 12.00[7][4] · 12.20[6] · 12.77±0.25[9]

    3367 Alex, provisional designation 1983 CA3, is a metallic asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Norman Thomas at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station, near Flagstaff, Arizona, on 15 February 1983.[10]

    The X-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.6–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,696 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at Heidelberg Observatory in 1953, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 30 years prior to its discovery.[10]

    In February 2006 and April 2011, two rotational light-curves of this asteroid were obtained from photometric observations made by French astronomers René Roy and Laurent Bernasconi, respectively. The fragmentary light-curves gave an identical rotation period of 9.6 and 9.6±0.5 hours with a respective brightness variation of 0.01 and 0.05 in magnitude (U=1/1).[8] Such a low amplitude typically indicates that the body has a nearly spheroidal shape.

    According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid has an albedo of 0.10, and measures 17.0 and 15.2 kilometers in diameter, respectively.[7][6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 19.3 kilometers.[3] However, preliminary results obtained by NEOWISE are not in line with all other observations. NEOWISE finds a high albedo of 0.30 with a much lower diameter of 9.6. kilometers, and classifies it as a bright E-type asteroid,[4] while CALL and the SMASS taxonomic scheme give it a metallic X-type spectrum.[1][3]

    The minor planet was named by the discoverer after his grandson, Alex R. Baltutis.[2] Naming citation was published on 26 March 1986 (M.P.C. 10550).[11]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3367 Alex (1983 CA3)" (2016-06-13 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3367) Alex. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 280. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "LCDB Data for (3367) Alex". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 9 May 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 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:1109.6407Freely accessible. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
    5. 1 2 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:1109.4096Freely accessible. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
    6. 1 2 3 4 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:1209.5794Freely accessible. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
    7. 1 2 3 4 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. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
    8. 1 2 3 Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (3367) Alex". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
    9. ↑ 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:1506.00762Freely accessible. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
    10. 1 2 "3367 Alex (1983 CA3)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
    11. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 May 2016.

    External links

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