3749 Balam

3749 Balam
Discovery
Discovered by Edward L. G. Bowell
Discovery date January 24, 1982
Designations
Named after
 David D. Balam
1954 XM; 1962 ED; 1974 YO; 1982 BG1
Main belt
Orbital characteristics
Epoch November 26, 2005 (JD 2453700.5)
Aphelion 371.292 Gm (2.482 AU)
Perihelion 297.982 Gm (1.992 AU)
334.637 Gm (2.237 AU)
Eccentricity 0.110
1221.998 d (3.35 a)
19.85 km/s
67.047°
Inclination 5.382°
295.903°
173.884°
Known satellites 2 (5.2±1 km) (1.5 km)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 7.2 km[1]
Mass 5.09±0.2×1014 kg[1][2]
Mean density
 2.61±0.45 g/cm³[1][2]
2.80483 hr[3]
Albedo 0.16
Temperature ~183 K
Spectral type
 S[1]
13.4[3]

    3749 Balam is an asteroid orbiting in the asteroid belt. It is named after the Canadian astronomer David D. Balam.

    Satellite system

    A satellite with a diameter of ~1.5 km, designated S/2002 (3749) 1, was discovered by William J. Merline, Laird M. Close, Nick Siegler, Christophe Dumas, Clark R. Chapman, François J. Rigaut, François Ménard, William M. Owen Jr., and David C. Slater from the Gemini North Telescope, Mauna Kea; this was announced on February 13, 2002.[4] It orbits 289±13 km away in 61±10 days, with an orbital eccentricity of ~0.9.[2]

    Being such as small primary body in the inner main belt with a separation of over 100 primary radii, S/2002 (3749) 1 is the most loosely-bound binary known.[5] Balam has a Hill sphere with a radius of about 1,500 km.[2]

    In March 2008, Franck Marchis discovered a larger (~3 km) inner companion, making this a triple system.[6][7][8]

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jim Baer (12 December 2010). "Recent Asteroid Mass Determinations". Personal Website. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Marchis, Franck; P. Descamps, J. Berthier, D. hestroffer, F. vachier, M. Baek, A. Harris, D. Nesvorny (2008). "Main Belt Binary Asteroidal Systems With Eccentric Mutual Orbits". Icarus 195 (1): 295–316. arXiv:0804.1385. Bibcode:2008Icar..195..295M. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.12.010.
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3749 Balam (1982 BG1)" (2011-12-29 last obs). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
    4. ↑ "IAUC 7827: P/2001 WF_2; S/2002 (3749) 1". IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 2002-02-13. Retrieved 2005-11-17.
    5. ↑ Merline, W.J.; Siegler, N.; Dumas, C.; Chapman, C. R.; Rigaut, F.; Menard, F.; Owen, W. M.; Slater, D. C.; Durda, D. D. (2002). "Discovery of a Loosely-bound Companion to Main-belt Asteroid (3749) Balam". American Astronomical Society 34: 835. Bibcode:2002DPS....34.0201M.
    6. ↑ "IAUC 8928: V2468 Cyg = N Cyg 2008; (3749)". IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
    7. ↑ Franck Marchis (Principal Investigator, SETI Institute, UC Berkeley). "Franck Marchis Web Page". Department of Astronomy (University of California at Berkeley). Retrieved 2009-10-27.
    8. ↑ Wm. Robert Johnston (2009-01-13). "(3749) Balam, S/2002 (3749) 1, and third component". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 2009-10-27.

    External links