| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 30 January 1982 |
| Designations | |
| (3192) A'Hearn | |
Named after | Michael A'Hearn (astronomer) [2] |
| 1982 BY1 ·1975 JN | |
| main-belt ·(inner) [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 41.29 yr (15,081 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7782 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9767 AU |
| 2.3774 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1686 |
| 3.67 yr (1,339 days) | |
| 251.29° | |
| 0° 16m 8.04s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.8791° |
| 56.726° | |
| 91.584° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.361±0.700 [4] 5.66 km (calculated) [3] |
| 3.160 h [5] | |
| 0.20 (assumed) [3] 0.354±0.166 [4] | |
| SMASS = C [1] · C [3] | |
| 13.6 [1] [3] | |
3192 A'Hearn, provisional designation 1982 BY1, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona, on 30 January 1982. [6]
The C-type asteroid orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,339 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. [1] The first precovery was obtained at El Leoncito in 1975, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 7 years prior to its discovery. [6]
A rotational lightcurve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by Japanese astronomer Sunao Hasegawa, using the 1.05-meter Schmidt telescope at Kiso Observatory in March 2004. It showed a well-defined rotation period of 3.16 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.20 in magnitude ( U=3 ). [5] According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 4.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.354. [4] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 – despite the fact that the body has been classified as a carbonaceous C-type – and calculates a diameter of 5.7 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.6. [3]
This minor planet was named for American cometary astronomer and professor of astronomy at CMNS, Michael A'Hearn (1940-2017), known for his contribution to cometary science, especially for his wide-range spectroscopic and spectrophotometric observations. He led Deep Impact/ EPOXI spacecraft mission and participated in IUE mission, which, in 1983, detected for the first time the presence of cometary diatomic sulfur while observing Comet IRAS–Araki–Alcock 's spectrum. [2] [7] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 June 1986 ( M.P.C. 10848). [8]
