8549 Alcide

8549 Alcide
Discovery[1]
Discovered by Farra d'Isonzo Obs.
(inc. Luciano Bittesini)
Discovery site Farra d'Isonzo Obs.
Discovery date 30 March 1994
Designations
MPC designation 8549 Alcide
Named after
Alcide Bittesini
(family of discoverer)[2]
1994 FS
main-belt · Nysa[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 22.14 yr (8,086 days)
Aphelion 2.8910 AU
Perihelion 1.9819 AU
2.4365 AU
Eccentricity 0.1866
3.80 yr (1,389 days)
266.82°
 15m 33.12s / day
Inclination 1.8783°
205.62°
64.805°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 4.19 km (calculated)[3]
4.341±0.076 km[4][5]
3 h[6]
0.196±0.012[4][5]
0.21 (assumed)[3]
S[3]
14.2[1][3][4] · 14.3±0.4 (R)[6] · 14.73±0.25[7]

    8549 Alcide, provisional designation 1994 FS, is a stony Nysa asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 March 1994, by a group of amateur astronomers at the Italian Farra d'Isonzo Observatory, in Farra d'Isonzo, near the border to Slovenia.[8]

    The S-type asteroid is a member of the stony subgroup of the Nysa family, one of the smaller families in the main-belt, named after its namesake, 44 Nysa. The body orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,389 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] First Precoveries were taken at Palomar and Steward Observatory (Kitt Peak) just weeks and days prior to the asteroid's discovery.[8]

    A rotational light-curve of this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by astronomer David Polishook at the ground-based Wise Observatory, Israel, in November 2007. The light-curve gave a rotation period of 3 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.2 in magnitude (U=2-).[6] According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 4.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.195,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.21 and calculates a diameter of 4.2 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 14.2.[3]

    The minor planet was named for Italian high-school teacher of natural sciences, Alcide Bittesini (1913–1981). He was the father of amateur astronomer Luciano Bittesini, who co-discovered the asteroid with his amateur colleagues at the Astronomical Observatory of Farra d'Isonzo, Italy. At the age of 9, his father fostered his interest in astronomy, when they observed a comet with a homespun telescope made of a pair of glasses, a tin can and a microscope eyepiece.[2] Naming citation was published on 2 February 1999 (M.P.C. 33791).[9]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 8549 Alcide (1994 FS)" (2016-04-03 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (8549) Alcide. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 654–655. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LCDB Data for (8549) Alcide". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 7 May 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 4 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 7 May 2016.
    5. 1 2 3 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 Polishook, D.; Brosch, N. (February 2009). "Photometry and spin rate distribution of small-sized main belt asteroids". Icarus. 199 (2): 319–332. arXiv:0811.1223Freely accessible. Bibcode:2009Icar..199..319P. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2008.10.020. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
    7. 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 7 May 2016.
    8. 1 2 "8549 Alcide (1994 FS)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
    9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 May 2016.

    External links

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