6522 Aci
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 9 July 1991 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 6522 Aci |
Named after |
Aci (Greek mythology and river in Sicily)[2] |
| 1991 NQ · 1990 BH4 | |
| main-belt · Phocaea [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 25.91 yr (9,462 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.8599 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9089 AU |
| 2.3844 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1994 |
| 3.68 yr (1,345 days) | |
| 214.62° | |
| Inclination | 22.120° |
| 294.47° | |
| 314.22° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 5.65 km (calculated)[3] |
| 7.6921±0.0017 h[4] | |
| 0.23 (assumed)[3] | |
| S [3] | |
| 12.9[1] | |
|
| |
6522 Aci, provisional designation 1991 NQ, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American female astronomer Eleanor Helin at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California, on 9 July 1991.[5]
The S-type asteroid is a member of the Phocaea family, a group of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,345 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.20 and is tilted by 22 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic.[1] A photometric light-curve analysis performed at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory in 2010, rendered a rotation period of 7.6921±0.0017 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.68 in magnitude.[4] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.23, a typical value for an asteroid with a stony surface composition and identical to the albedo of the family's namesake, 25 Phocaea.[3]
The minor planet was named for the river southeast of Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy. The towns and villages along the river, such as Aci Castello, Aci Trezza, Aci-Reale, and Aci Sant'Antonio, were also honoured. The river also evokes the myth of Aci from Greek mythology, about a young Sicilian shepherd, who was in love with the Nereid Galatea, after whom the minor planet 74 Galatea is named. The jealous cyclops Polyphemus hurled a large rock and killed Aci, whose blood was transformed into an underground river that plunged into the Ionian Sea to hug his beloved Galatea.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 6522 Aci (1991 NQ)" (2015-12-21 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved January 2016.
- 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (6522) Aci. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 539. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved January 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (6522) Aci". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved January 2016.
- 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. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved January 2016.
- ↑ "6522 Aci (1991 NQ)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved January 2016.
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 (5001)-(10000) – Minor Planet Center
- 6522 Aci at the JPL Small-Body Database
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