8121 Altdorfer
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by |
Palomar–Leiden survey C. J. van Houten, I. van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 24 September 1960 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 8121 Altdorfer |
Named after |
Albrecht Altdorfer (Renaissance painter)[2] |
|
2572 P–L · 1972 GR1 1990 SU29 | |
| main-belt · Flora [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 54.60 yr (19,942 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4642 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0122 AU |
| 2.2382 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1009 |
| 3.35 yr (1,223 days) | |
| 24.123° | |
| Inclination | 2.6838° |
| 9.5260° | |
| 113.62° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 2.06 km (calculated)[3] |
| 4.0221 h[4] | |
| 0.24 (assumed)[3] | |
| S [3] | |
| 15.0[1] | |
|
| |
8121 Altdorfer, also designated 2572 P–L, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by the Dutch and Dutch–American astronomers Cornelis van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld at Leiden, on photographic plates taken by Tom Gehrels at the U.S. Palomar Observatory, on 24 September 1960.[5]
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 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,223 days). Its orbit is tilted by 3 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic and shows an eccentricity of 0.10. It has a rotation period of 4.0 hours[4] and an assumed albedo of 0.24.[3]
The designation P–L stands for Palomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory and Leiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitful Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Cornelis and Ingrid van Houten at Leiden Observatory where astrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with several thousand asteroid discoveries.
The minor planet is named in honour of German Renaissance painter Albrecht Altdorfer (1480–1538). As a member of the "Donauschool" he created the first landscape paintings without figures, and was an architect of the city of Regensburg, Germany, after which the minor planet 927 Ratisbona is named. He was also a significant printmaker, with numerous (copper) engravings and woodcuts.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 8121 Altdorfer (2572 P-L)" (2015-05-01 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved December 2015.
- 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (8121) Altdorfer. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 619. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved December 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (8121) Altdorfer". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved December 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.
- ↑ "8121 Altdorfer (2572 P-L)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved December 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 (5001)-(10000) – Minor Planet Center
- 8121 Altdorfer at the JPL Small-Body Database
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