9936 Al-Biruni

9936 Al-Biruni

Orbit of 9936 Al-Biruni (blue) compared to the inner planets and Jupiter (red)
Discovery[1]
Discovered by E. W. Elst
V. Ivanova
Discovery site Rozhen Obs.
Discovery date 8 August 1986
Designations
MPC designation 9936 Al-Biruni
Named after
Al-Biruni (astronomer)[2]
1986 PN4 · 1981 UV12
main-belt · (outer)[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 34.60 yr (12,636 days)
Aphelion 3.6560 AU
Perihelion 2.5106 AU
3.0833 AU
Eccentricity 0.1857
5.41 yr (1,978 days)
243.38°
 10m 55.2s / day
Inclination 15.412°
310.52°
13.519°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 22.16 km (calculated)[3]
23.890±0.170[4]
24.187±0.314 km[5]
27.81±1.61 km[6]
10.704±0.010 h[7]
0.048±0.006[6]
0.057 (assumed)[3]
0.0632±0.0151[5]
0.065±0.012[4]
C[3]
12.1[1] · 11.7[5][6]
12.0[3]

    9936 Al-Biruni, provisional designation 1986 PN4, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 24 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 8 August 1986, by Belgian and Bulgarian astronomers Eric Elst and Violeta Ivanova at the Rozhen Observatory, located in Bulgaria's Smolyan province near the border to Greece.[8]

    The C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.5–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 5 months (1,978 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 15° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at Crimea-Nauchnij in 1981, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 5 years prior to its discovery.[8]

    A rotational light-curve was obtained for this asteroid from photometric observations made at the U.S. Goodsell Observatory (741), Minnesota, in August 2002. The light-curve gave a rotation period of 10.704±0.010 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.14 in magnitude (U=2)[7]

    According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures between 23.9 and 27.8 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has a corresponding albedo of 0.048 to 0.065.[4][5][6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 22.2 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 12.0.[3]

    The minor planet was named after the Persian scholar and polymath Al-Biruni (973–1048). Regarded as the founder of Indology and the father of geodesy, he made important contributions to anthropology, mathematics and astronomy. In particular, he is known for developing a method for the summation of series, for solving algebraic equations, and for the triangulation of distances on Earth's surface.[2] Naming citation was published on 26 September 2007 (M.P.C. 60728).[9] The lunar crater Al-Biruni is also named in his honour.

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 9936 Al-Biruni (1986 PN4)" (2016-05-28 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (9936) Al-Biruni. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 712. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LCDB Data for (9936) Al-Biruni". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 13 May 2016.
    4. 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.
    5. 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 13 May 2016.
    6. 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 13 May 2016.
    7. 1 2 Clark, Maurice; Joyce, Brian (December 2002). "Asteroid lightcurve photometry from Goodsell Observatory (741)". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 30 (1): 4–7. Bibcode:2003MPBu...30....4C. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
    8. 1 2 "9936 Al-Biruni (1986 PN4)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
    9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 May 2016.

    External links

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