3174 Alcock
Minorplanetyes
Background
  1. D6D6D6
Discovered26 October 1984
DiscovererE. Bowell
Discovery siteAnderson Mesa Stn.
Mpc name(3174) Alcock
Alt names1984 UV · 1962 YD
1969 BB ·
·
·
1980 AH · 1981 GF
Named afterGeorge Alcock
(amateur astronomer)[1]
Mp categorymain-belt · Themis[2]
Epoch4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty0
Observation arc47.71 yr (17,426 days)
Aphelion3.6932 AU
Perihelion2.5991 AU
Semimajor3.1462 AU
Eccentricity0.1739
Period5.58 yr (2,038 days)
Mean anomaly296.20°
Mean motion/ day
Inclination2.3715°
Asc node72.244°
Arg peri4.6082°
Mean diameter18.66 ± 0.80 km[3]
18.71 km (calculated)[2]
Rotation7.05 ± 0.01 h[4]
Albedo0.08 (assumed)[2]
0.102 ± 0.009[3]
Abs magnitude12.0[5][2] · 11.80[3]

3174 Alcock (prov. designation: ) is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt. It was discovered by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's U.S. Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona, on 26 October 1984.[6] The likely C-type asteroid has a rotation period of 7.1 hours and measures approximately 19 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter. It was named after British amateur astronomer George Alcock (1912–2000).

Orbit and classification

The dark C-type asteroid is a member of the Themis family, a dynamical family of outer-belt asteroids with nearly coplanar ecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,038 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[5] The first used observation was taken at Crimea–Nauchnij in 1973, when the body was identified as , extending its observation arc by 11 years prior to the official discovery observation. However, the first images were already taken at the U.S. Goethe Link Observatory in 1962, while it was identified as .[6]

Naming

This minor planet was named by the discoverer for prolific British amateur astronomer George Alcock (1912–2000), who visually discovered 5 comets and 4 novae.[1] The was published by the Minor Planet Center on 5 November 1987 (M.P.C. 12458).[7]

Physical characteristics

A rotational lightcurve of this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by French astronomer René Roy in February 2008. The lightcurve gave a rotation period of 7.05 ± 0.01 hours with a brightness variation of 0.65 in magnitude (U=3-).[4]

According to the spaced-based survey carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, the asteroid measures 18.66 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.102,[3] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 18.71 kilometers.[2]

References

  1. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3174) Alcock". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 263. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3175. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  2. ^ No. 3174. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. ^ Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117 (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
  4. ^ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (3174) Alcock". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  5. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3174 Alcock (1984 UV)" (2016-10-06 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  6. ^ "3174 Alcock (1984 UV)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  7. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 May 2016.