1955 McMath

1955 McMath
Discovery [1]
Discovery site Goethe Link Obs.
Discovery date 22 September 1963
Designations
MPC designation 1955 McMath
Named after
 Robert McMath[2]
1963 SR · 1936 BA
1949 XN · 1951 EP2
1953 RN · 1963 TK
main-belt · Koronis [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 65.44 yr (23,902 days)
Aphelion 3.0399 AU
Perihelion 2.6692 AU
2.8546 AU
Eccentricity 0.0649
4.82 yr (1,762 days)
228.54°
Inclination 1.0051°
258.15°
154.35°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 9.759±0.248 km[4]
10.31 km (calculated)[3]
5.574 h[5]
5.57±0.00 h[6]
5.5976±0.0315 h[7]
0.3223±0.0412[4]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
S [3]
12.1

    1955 McMath, provisional designation 1963 SR, is a stony asteroid in the asteroid belt, about 10 kilometers in diameter and a member of the Koronis family of asteroids. It was discovered at the U.S. Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana by the Indiana Asteroid Program on September 22, 1963.[8]

    The bright S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 10 months (1,762 days). The orbit lies in the ecliptic and is hardly eccentric. It has an exceptionally well determined rotation period of 5.6 hours.[5][6][7] While NEOWISE measured a high albedo of 0.32, the Light curve data base project assumes a more conservative figure of 0.24.[3]

    It was named after American solar astronomer Robert Raynolds McMath (1891–1962), a bridge engineer and businessman and an astronomer. He co-founded the McMath-Hulbert Observatory in Lake Angelus, Michigan, United States. This observatory was deeded to the University of Michigan in 1931, he served as its director from 1931 to 1961. He was an adviser to the National Science Foundation in its early years and he chaired the panel that advised NSF on the need for a national observatory. Kitt Peak National Observatory site was chosen for the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope. Robert McMath served as the first president of Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) from 1957 to 1958 and thereafter as chairman of the AURA board. The lunar crater McMath is also named in his and his father's honour.[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1955 McMath (1963 SR)" (2015-05-24 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved November 2015.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1955) McMath. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 157. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved November 2015.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (1955) McMath". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved November 2015.
    4. 1 2 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:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved November 2015.
    5. 1 2 Slivan, Stephen M.; Binzel, Richard P.; Boroumand, Shaida C.; Pan, Margaret W.; Simpson, Christine M.; Tanabe, James T.; et al. (May 2008). "Rotation rates in the Koronis family, complete to H≈11.2". Icarus 195 (1): 226–276. Bibcode:2008Icar..195..226S. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2007.11.019. Retrieved November 2015.
    6. 1 2 Chang, Chan-Kao; Ip, Wing-Huen; Lin, Hsing-Wen; Cheng, Yu-Chi; Ngeow, Chow-Choong; Yang, Ting-Chang; et al. (June 2014). "313 New Asteroid Rotation Periods from Palomar Transient Factory Observations". The Astrophysical Journal 788 (1): 21. arXiv:1405.1144. Bibcode:2014ApJ...788...17C. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/788/1/17. Retrieved November 2015.
    7. 1 2 Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved November 2015.
    8. ↑ "1955 McMath (1963 SR)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved November 2015.

    External links


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