Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | M. Arai H. Mori |
Discovery site | Yorii Obs. |
Discovery date | 5 December 1988 |
Designations | |
(3996) Fugaku | |
Named after | Mount Fuji (Japan) [2] |
1988 XG1 ·1939 FZ 1957 TB ·1981 SO5 1981 UM16 | |
main-belt · Flora [3] | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 78.22 yr (28,570 days) |
Aphelion | 2.4941 AU |
Perihelion | 2.0254 AU |
2.2597 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.1037 |
3.40 yr (1,241 days) | |
338.50° | |
0° 17m 24.36s / day | |
Inclination | 2.2842° |
90.755° | |
156.18° | |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 5.151±0.074 km [4] 5.231±0.032 km [5] 5.40 km (calculated) [3] 5.88±1.10 km [6] |
7.1912±0.0016 h [7] | |
0.24 (assumed) [3] 0.34±0.17 [6] 0.4086±0.0152 [5] 0.420±0.066 [4] | |
S [3] | |
13.0 [1] [5] [6] ·13.055±0.003(R) [7] ·13.5 [3] ·13.57±0.25 [8] | |
3996 Fugaku, provisional designation 1988 XG1, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 5 December 1988, by Japanese amateur astronomers Masaru Arai and Hiroshi Mori at Yorii Observatory in central Japan. [9] It was named for Mount Fuji, Japan. [2]
Fugaku is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,241 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic. [1] It was first identified as 1939 FZ at Turku Observatory in 1939, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 49 years prior to its official discovery observation. [9]
Fugaku has been characterized as a stony S-type asteroid, the most common type in the inner main-belt. [1]
In March 210, a rotational lightcurve of Fugaku was obtained from photometric observations at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. It gave a rotation period of 7.1912 hours with a change in brightness of 0.86 magnitude ( U=2 ). [7]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Fugaku measures between 5.15 and 5.88 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.34 and 0.42. [4] [5] [6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this family – and calculates a diameter of 5.40 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.5. [3]
This minor planet was named for the ancient name of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain and a well-known symbol. Another minor planet, 1584 Fuji, is also named for this mountain. [2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 4 May 1999 ( M.P.C. 34619). [10]