2709 Sagan

2709 Sagan

Light-curve-based 3D-model of 2709 Sagan
Discovery[1]
Discovered by E. Bowell
Discovery site Anderson Mesa Station
Discovery date 21 March 1982
Designations
MPC designation 2709 Sagan
Named after
Carl Sagan
(astronomer, science communicator)[2]
1982 FH · 1951 WF1
1959 CC · 1959 EA1
1964 WT · 1982 FE2
main-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 56.45 yr (20,618 days)
Aphelion 2.3474 AU
Perihelion 2.0434 AU
2.1954 AU
Eccentricity 0.0692
3.25 yr (1,188 days)
77.034°
Inclination 2.7313°
241.14°
308.16°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 6.56±0.20 km[4]
6.81 km (calculated)[3]
5.2564 h[lower-alpha 1]
5.258±0.002 h[5]
5.254±0.001 h[6]
0.259±0.043[4]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
SMASS = S
S[3]
13.0[1]

    2709 Sagan, provisional designation 1982 FH, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona, on 21 March 1982.[7]

    The S-type asteroid is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.3 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,188 days). Its orbit is tilted by 3 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic and shows an orbital eccentricity of 0.07. It has an albedo of 0.26, according to observations made by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and subsequent NEOWISE mission.[4] The body rotates every 5.26 hours once around its axis.[lower-alpha 1][5][6]

    The minor planet was named in honor of Carl Sagan (1934–1996), planetary scientist at Cornell University, science popularizer, editor of the journal Icarus, and founder of The Planetary Society. Sagan participated on a number of planetary space missions, including the Voyager mission to the outer planets and the Mariner 9 and Viking missions to Mars. His research encompassed studies of the greenhouse effect on Venus, the atmosphere and surface of titan, windblown dust on Mars, and the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligent life. Sagan won the Pulitzer prize for literature in 1978.[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 Pravec (2011) web: rotation period 5.2564±0.0007 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.09 mag. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) for (2709) Sagan
    1. 1 2 3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2709 Sagan (1982 FH)" (2015-07-17 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved December 2015.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2709) Sagan. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 221–222. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved December 2015.
    3. 1 2 3 4 "LCDB Data for (2709) Sagan". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved December 2015.
    4. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; Cabrera, M. S. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved December 2015.
    5. 1 2 Higgins, David; Pravec, Petr; Kusnirak, Peter; Hornoch, Kamil; Brinsfield, James W.; Allen, Bill; Warner, Brian D. (September 2008). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at Hunters Hill Observatory and Collaborating Stations: November 2007 - March 2008". Bulletin of the Minor Planets (Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers) 35 (3): 123–126. Bibcode:2008MPBu...35..123H. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved December 2015.
    6. 1 2 Oey, Julian; Inasaridze, Raguli Ya.; Kvaratskhelia, Otar I.; Ayvazian, Vova; Chirony, Vasilij G.; Krugly, Yurij N.; Molotov, Igor E.; et al. (July 2013). "Lightcurve Analysis is Search of Binary Asteroids". Bulletin of the Minor Planets (Section of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers) 40 (3): 169–172. Bibcode:2013MPBu...40..169O. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved December 2015.
    7. "2709 Sagan (1982 FH)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved December 2015.

    External links


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