5542 Moffatt

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5542 Moffatt
Discovery  [1]
Discovered by Perth Obs.
Discovery site Perth Obs.
Discovery date6 August 1978
Designations
(5542) Moffatt
Named after
 Ethelwin Moffatt
(Australian philanthropist)
1978 PT4 ·1986 LL
main-belt   [1] [2]  ·(middle)
Maria   [3] [4]  · Eunomia   [5]
Orbital characteristics   [2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 39.71 yr (14,505 d)
Aphelion 3.0022 AU
Perihelion 2.1727 AU
2.5874 AU
Eccentricity 0.1603
4.16 yr (1,520 d)
128.69°
0° 14m 12.48s / day
Inclination 15.877°
116.56°
263.20°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
8.597±0.183  km [6] [7]
10.06 km(calculated) [5]
5.187±0.001  h [8]
5.195 h [4]
0.21(assumed) [5]
0.345±0.055 [6] [7]
S (assumed) [5]
12.1 [7]
12.3 [2] [5]
12.67±0.25 [9]

    5542 Moffatt, provisional designation 1978 PT4, is a Marian asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers (6 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 6 August 1978, by astronomers at the Perth Observatory in Bickley, Australia. [1] The likely S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 5.19 hours. [5] It was named for Australian Ethelwin Moffatt, a benefactor of the discovering observatory. [1]

    Contents

    Orbit and classification

    Moffatt is a core member of the Maria family ( 506 ), [3] [4] a large intermediate belt family of stony asteroids. [10] Alternatively, it has also been assigned to the stony Eunomia family ( 502 ), one of the most prominent families in the intermediate main belt with more than 5,000 members. [5]

    It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.0  AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,520 days; semi-major axis of 2.59 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 16° with respect to the ecliptic. [2] The body's observation arc begins with its first observation at Palomar Observatory in July 1978, a month prior to its official discovery observation at Bickley. [1]

    Physical characteristics

    Moffatt is an assumed stony S-type asteroid. [5]

    Rotation period

    In November 2011, a rotational lightcurve of Moffatt was obtained from photometric observations by Chinese astronomers using the SARA telescopes ( G82 ) of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy at Kitt Peak and CTIO. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 5.187 hours and a brightness variation of 0.12 magnitude ( U=2+ ). [8] This supersedes a previous result from a fragmentary lightcurve by Alvaro Alvarez-Candal that gave a period of 5.195 hours with an amplitude of 0.27 magnitude ( U=1 ). [4]

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Moffatt measures 8.597 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.345. [6] [7] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.21 – derived from 15 Eunomia, the parent body of the Eunomia family – and calculates a diameter of 10.06 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.3. [5]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after Australian Ethelwin Moffatt (née Winzar, born 1926), a benefactor of the discovering Perth Observatory and a direct descendant of John Flamsteed (1646–1719), the first Astronomer Royal. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 September 2001 ( M.P.C. 43380). [11]

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 "5542 Moffatt (1978 PT4)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
    2. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 5542 Moffatt (1978 PT4)" (2018-04-23 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 23 May 2018.
    3. 1 2 "Asteroid 5542 Moffatt". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Alvarez-Candal, Alvaro; Duffard, René; Angeli, Cláudia A.; Lazzaro, Daniela; Fernández, Silvia (December 2004). "Rotational lightcurves of asteroids belonging to families". Icarus. 172 (2): 388–401. Bibcode:2004Icar..172..388A. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2004.06.008.
    5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "LCDB Data for (5542) Moffatt". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 23 May 2018.
    6. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv: 1109.4096 . Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. S2CID   118745497.
    7. 1 2 3 4 Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv: 1109.6407 . Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. S2CID   35447010. (catalog)
    8. 1 2 Han, Xianming L.; Li, Bin; Zhao, Haibin; Liu, Wenjuan; Sun, Luming; Shi, Jingjing; et al. (April 2013). "Photometric Observations of 782 Montefiore, 3842 Harlansmith 5542 Moffatt, 6720 Gifu, and (19979) 1989 VJ". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 40 (2): 99–100. Bibcode:2013MPBu...40...99H. ISSN   1052-8091.
    9. ↑ 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: 1506.00762 . Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. S2CID   53493339.
    10. ↑ Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv: 1502.01628 . Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN   9780816532131. S2CID   119280014.
    11. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
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