3202 Graff

3202 Graff
Discovery [1]
Discovered by M. F. Wolf
Discovery site Heidelberg Obs.
Discovery date 3 January 1908
Designations
MPC designation 3202 Graff
Named after
 Gareth V. Williams
(astronomer)[2]
A908 AA · 1981 ES13
main-belt (outer)[1] · Hilda [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 31 July 2016 (JD 2457600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 108.40 yr (39,592 days)
Aphelion 4.3893 AU
Perihelion 3.4831 AU
3.9362 AU
Eccentricity 0.1151
7.81 yr (2,852 days)
244.64°
0° 7m 34.32s / day
Inclination 11.106°
205.15°
268.82°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 36.78 km (calculated)[3]
17.32±0.02 h[4]
0.057 (assumed)[3]
D [5] · C [3]
10.9[1][3]
11.31±0.28[5]

    3202 Graff, provisional designation A908 AA, is a carbonaceous Hilda asteroid from the outermost region of the asteroid belt, approximately 37 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 January 1908, by German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany.[6]

    The dark C-type asteroid is classified as a rare D-type by Pan-STARRS' large-scale survey,[5] and belongs to the Hilda family of asteroids, which are in a 3:2 orbital resonance with the giant planet Jupiter. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.5–4.4 AU once every 7 years and 10 months (2,852 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 11° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The asteroid's observation arc begins 3 weeks after its discovery with its first used observation at Heidelberg.[6]

    In July 2015, a rotational light-curve for this asteroid was obtained by astronomer Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies. It gave a well-defined rotation period of 17.32±0.02 hours with a brightness variation of 0.18 in magnitude (U=3-).[4] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 36.8 kilometers.[3]

    This minor planet was named after English-born astronomer Gareth "Graff" Vaughan Williams (b. 1965), who identified various low-numbered asteroids among bodies that had been given provisional designations. His work at the Minor Planet Center (MPC) has received much recognition.[2] Naming citation was published on 10 April 1990 (M.P.C. 16245),[7] based on a suggestion by long-time MPC director Brian G. Marsden (1937–2000) and by Conrad M. Bardwell (1926–2010), associate director of the MPC and who made the identification for this body.[2] The minor planets 1615 Bardwell and 1877 Marsden were named in honor of these two prominent astronomers at the MPC.

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3202 Graff (A908 AA)" (2016-06-16 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
    2. 1 2 3 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3202) Graff. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 266. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "LCDB Data for (3202) Graff". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 10 July 2016.
    4. 1 2 Stephens, Robert D. (January 2016). "Asteroids Observed from CS3: 2015 July - September". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 43 (1): 52–56. Bibcode:2016MPBu...43...52S. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
    5. 1 2 3 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:1506.00762Freely accessible. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
    6. 1 2 "3202 Graff (A908 AA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
    7. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 10 July 2016.

    External links

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