17473 Freddiemercury
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | H. Debehogne |
| Discovery site | La Silla Obs. |
| Discovery date | 21 March 1991 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 17473 Freddiemercury |
Named after |
Freddie Mercury (musician)[2] |
|
1991 FM3 · 1982 VC9 1999 JE127 | |
| main-belt · (inner) | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 33.99 yr (12,415 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7618 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0189 AU |
| 2.3903 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1554 |
| 3.70 yr (1,350 days) | |
| 58.955° | |
| 0° 16m 0.12s / day | |
| Inclination | 0.9120° |
| 0.8844° | |
| 100.56° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.435±0.374 km[1][3] |
| 0.313±0.064[1][3] | |
| 14.4[1] | |
|
| |
17473 Freddiemercury, provisional designation 1991 FM3, is a bright asteroid from the inner regions asteroid belt, approximately 3.4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 21 March 1991, by Belgian astronomer Henri Debehogne at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile.[2]
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,350 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first observation was made at Crimea–Nauchnij in 1982, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 9 years prior to its discovery.[2] According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 3.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.313.[3] As of 2016, the asteroid's composition, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1]
On 4 September 2016, the day what would've been the day before Freddie Mercury's 70th birthday, the International Astronomical Union and the Minor Planet Centre named it "Freddiemercury" after Freddie Mercury (1946–1991), as the asteroid was discovered in the year that the singer died (M.P.C. 101215)[4] and its provisional designation included his initials. The naming was announced by Brian May at Montreux Casino to mark the singer's 70th birthday.[5][6]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 17473 (1991 FM3)" (2016-11-05 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- 1 2 3 "17473 (1991 FM3)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; 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 6 September 2016. - ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- ↑ "Freddie Mercury: Asteroid named after late Queen star to mark 70th birthday". BBC News. 6 September 2016.
- ↑ "A shooting star leaping through the sky: asteroid named after Freddie Mercury on '70th birthday'". Telegraph. 5 September 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 (15001)-(20000) – Minor Planet Center
- 17473 Freddiemercury at the JPL Small-Body Database
