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3133 Sendai, provisional designation A907 TC, is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 October 1907, by German astronomer August Kopff at Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The asteroid was named for the Japanese city of Sendai.

Orbit and classification

Sendai is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,176 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic.

Physical characteristics

Sendai has been characterized as a stony S-type asteroid.

Diameter and albedo

According to the surveys carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and its extended NEOWISE mission, the asteroid's surface has an albedo of 0.21 and 0.31, with a diameter of 8.3 and 7.3 kilometers, respectively. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an intermediate albedo of 0.24 – which derives from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a concurring diameter of 7.5 kilometers.

Lightcurves

In 2010, two rotational lightcurves were obtained by amateur astronomer Ralph Megna at Goat Mountain Astronomical Research Station (G79), and by the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory in California. The concurring lightcurves showed a rotation period of 5.776±0.005 and 5.7491±0.0008 hours, respectively (U=3-/2).

Naming

This minor planet was named for the second largest city north of Tokyo, Sendai (pop. 1 million), location of the Tōhoku University. It is the home of the Sendai Astronomical Observatory, which was founded in 1955, on appeal by the Sendai Amateur Astronomical Association. The observatory has discovered several minor planets. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 29 September 1985 (M.P.C. 10045).

Notes

1. ^ Megna (2011) web: rotation period 5.776±0.005 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.19 mag. Light-curve chart at Ralph Megna's website and summary figures for (3133) Sendai at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL).

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3133 Sendai (A907 TC)" (2016-12-12 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3133) Sendai". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3133) Sendai. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 259. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3134. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. ^ "LCDB Data for (3133) Sendai". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 27 April 2016.
4. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (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 11 January 2016.
5. ^ 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 27 April 2016.
6. ^ 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 27 April 2016.
7. Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
8. "3133 Sendai (A907 TC)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
9. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 April 2016.

External links

• Ralph Megna, Light-curves, website
• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• 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
• 3133 Sendai at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 3133 Sendai at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Flora asteroids
• Discoveries by August Kopff
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1907