Misplaced Pages

9965 GNU

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Asteroid

9965 GNU
Orbits of GNU (blue), the inner planets and Jupiter (outermost)
Discovery 
Discovered bySpacewatch
Discovery siteKitt Peak National Obs.
Discovery date5 March 1992
Designations
MPC designation(9965) GNU
Named afterGNU Project 
(free software project)
Alternative designations1992 EF2 · 1988 BD4
1993 QR3
Minor planet categorymain-belt  · (inner)
background 
Orbital characteristics 
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc30.17 yr (11,019 d)
Aphelion2.8283 AU
Perihelion2.0080 AU
Semi-major axis2.4181 AU
Eccentricity0.1696
Orbital period (sidereal)3.76 yr (1,373 d)
Mean anomaly276.39°
Mean motion0° 15 43.56 / day
Inclination12.206°
Longitude of ascending node156.48°
Argument of perihelion82.938°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter2.07±0.53 km
4.10 km (calculated)
6.22±2.14 km
6.293±0.159 km
Synodic rotation period39.720±0.1589 h (R)
39.745±0.1589 h (S)
Geometric albedo0.102±0.014
0.1022±0.0145
0.105±0.125
0.20 (assumed)
0.53±0.12
Spectral typeD (Pan-STARRS)
S (SDSS-MOC)
S (assumed)
Absolute magnitude (H)14.10
14.3
14.31±0.14
14.398±0.005 (R)
14.72
14.966±0.011 (S)

9965 GNU, provisional designation 1992 EF2, is a background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers (2 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 5 March 1992, by astronomer of the Spacewatch program at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, United States. The uncertain D-type asteroid has a long rotation period of 39.7 hours. It was named for the free-software GNU Project.

Orbit and classification

GNU is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.

It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 2.0–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,373 days; semi-major axis of 2.42 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 12° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its first observation as 1988 BD4 at La Silla Observatory in January 1988, or 4 years prior to its official discovery observation at Kitt Peak.

Physical characteristics

GNU has been characterized as a dark D-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS' survey and in the SDSS-based taxonomy. It is also an assumed S-type asteroid, the most common type in the inner asteroid belt.

Rotation period

In September and October 2012, two rotational lightcurves of GNU were obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 39.720 and 39.745 hours, with a brightness amplitude of 0.36 and 0.42 magnitude in the R- and S-band, respectively (U=2/2). While not being a slow rotator, GNU' period is significantly longer than the average spin rate of 2 to 20 hours, seen among the majority of asteroids.

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, GNU measures between 2.07 and 6.293 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.102 and 0.53. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 4.10 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 14.3.

Naming

This minor planet was named for the free-software GNU Project, created by Richard Stallman 1984. GNU is the recursive acronym for "GNU is not Unix". The collaborative projects enables programmers to trade and improve upon free software. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 11 November 2000 (M.P.C. 41571).

References

  1. ^ "9965 GNU (1992 EF2)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  2. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 9965 GNU (1992 EF2)" (2018-03-22 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Asteroid 9965 GNU". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  4. ^ Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Kramer, E. A.; Grav, T.; et al. (September 2016). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Two: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (3): 12. arXiv:1606.08923. Bibcode:2016AJ....152...63N. doi:10.3847/0004-6256/152/3/63.
  5. ^ "LCDB Data for (9965) GNU". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  6. ^ 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. S2CID 46350317.
  7. ^ Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. S2CID 118745497.
  8. ^ 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. S2CID 35447010. (catalog)
  9. ^ 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. S2CID 8342929.
  10. ^ 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. S2CID 53493339.
  11. ^ Carvano, J. M.; Hasselmann, P. H.; Lazzaro, D.; Mothé-Diniz, T. (February 2010). "SDSS-based taxonomic classification and orbital distribution of main belt asteroids". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 510: 12. Bibcode:2010A&A...510A..43C. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200913322. Retrieved 30 October 2019. (PDS data set)
  12. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 May 2018.

External links

Minor planets navigator
Small Solar System bodies
Minor planets
Asteroid
Distant minor planet
Comets
Other
Categories:
9965 GNU Add topic