1961 Dufour
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. Wild |
| Discovery site | Zimmerwald Obs. |
| Discovery date | 19 November 1973 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 1961 Dufour |
Named after | Henri Dufour[2] |
|
1973 WA · 1927 UM 1952 BQ1 · 1962 YG 1969 AH · 1973 SY3 | |
| main-belt · (outer) [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 52.87 yr (19,309 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.5901 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.8050 AU |
| 3.1975 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1227 |
| 5.72 yr (2,088 days) | |
| 47.995° | |
| Inclination | 6.6413° |
| 29.634° | |
| 57.921° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions |
50.31±1.6 km (IRAS:20)[1] 51.15±0.98 km[4] 50.28 km (derived)[3] |
|
15.79 h[5] 15.7583±0.0309 h[6] | |
|
0.0402±0.003 (IRAS:20)[1] 0.039±0.002[4] 0.0367 (derived)[3] | |
| C [3] | |
| 10.7[1] | |
|
| |
1961 Dufour, provisional designation 1973 WA, is a large, carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, about 50 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 November 1973, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland.[7]
The dark C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.8–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,088 days). It has a rotation period of 15.8 hours[5][6] and a low albedo of 0.040 and 0.039, based on observations made by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS, and the Japanese Akari satellite, respectively, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) derives a slightly lower albedo of 0.037.[3]
The minor planet is named after Swiss General Henri Dufour (1787–1875), who swiftly subdued the catholic cantons in the Sonderbund War of November 1847 with almost no bloodshed. He was also the founder of the Swiss Federal Office of Topography and initiated and directed the first complete geodetic survey of Switzerland.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1961 Dufour (1973 WA)" (2015-11-12 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved December 2015.
- 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1961) Dufour. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 158. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved October 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (1961) Dufour". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved December 2015.
- 1 2 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 December 2015.
- 1 2 Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves (1961) Dufour". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved October 2015.
- 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 December 2015.
- ↑ "1961 Dufour (1973 WA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved October 2015.
External links
- Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info)
- Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
- Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
- 1961 Dufour at the JPL Small-Body Database
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