| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 5 April 1981 |
| Designations | |
| (6170) Levasseur | |
Named after | Anny-Chantal Levasseur-Regourd [1] (French planetary scientist) |
| 1981 GP ·1983 TL2 1988 FA | |
| Mars-crosser [1] [2] [3] Phocea [4] | |
| Orbital characteristics [2] | |
| Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.93 yr (23,349 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.1029 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.5996 AU |
| 2.3512 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3197 |
| 3.61 yr (1,317 d) | |
| 240.28° | |
| 0° 16m 24.24s / day | |
| Inclination | 22.580° |
| 11.773° | |
| 103.77° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.755 AU (294 LD) |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 5.68±0.57 km [5] |
| 2.6529±0.0003 h [6] [lower-alpha 1] | |
| 0.239 [5] | |
| S [3] [7] | |
| 13.00 [7] 13.40 [1] [2] [3] [5] | |
6170 Levasseur, provisional designation 1981 GP, is a stony Phocaean asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5.7 kilometers (3.5 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 5 April 1981, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at the Anderson Mesa Station in Arizona. [1] The S-type asteroid has a short rotation period of 2.65 hours. [3] It was named for French planetary scientist Anny-Chantal Levasseur-Regourd. [1]
Levasseur is a member of the Mars-crossing asteroids, a dynamically unstable group between the main belt and the near-Earth populations, crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.66 AU. [1] The asteroid has also been identified as a member of the Phocaea family ( 701 ) – an old, stony main-belt family with nearly 2000 known members – when applying the HCM algorithms to its proper orbital elements. [4] [8] : 23
It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.6–3.1 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,317 days; semi-major axis of 2.35 AU). Its orbit has a very eccentricity of 0.32 and an inclination of 23° with respect to the ecliptic. [2] The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in September 1954, more than 26 years prior to its official discovery observation at Lowell Observatory's Anderson Mesa Station in April 1981. [1]
This minor planet was named after Anny-Chantal Levasseur-Regourd (born 1945), a French planetary scientist and former astronaut candidate. She has been professor at UPMC in Paris and works at the French National Center for Scientific Research, CNRS. Her research includes comets, the interplanetary medium and interplanetary dust. She has also been a principal investigator when the Giotto spacecraft visited Comet Halley in 1986. [1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 July 1996 ( M.P.C. 27461). [9]
Levasseur is a common, stony S-type asteroid, [3] [7] in line with the Phocaea family's overall spectral type. [8] : 23
In December 2005, a rotational lightcurve of Levasseur was obtained from photometric observations by Donald Pray at the Carbuncle Hill Observatory ( 912 ) in collaboration with other European and American observers. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 2.6529±0.0003 hours with a brightness variation of 0.14±0.02 magnitude ( U=3 ). [6] [lower-alpha 1]
In April 2010, two nearly identical periods were found by David Higgins at the Hunters Hill Observatory ( E14 ) in Australia and by Petr Pravec and collaborators at the Ondřejov Observatory in the Czech Republic. Their analysis gave a period of 2.6528±0.0004 and 2.6531±0.0002 hours with an amplitude of 0.13 and 0.09, respectively ( U=2/3 ). [10] [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] While not being a fast rotator, Levasseur's rotation is near the cohesionless spin-barrier of 2.2 hours.
According to a dedicated survey of Mars-crossing asteroids carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Levasseur measures 5.68 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.239. [5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 6.21 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.4. [3]
With a diameter of 5.68 kilometers, Levasseur is still one of the smaller "sizable" Mars-crossers (5–15 km). These include 3581 Alvarez (13.69 km) 1065 Amundsenia (9.75 km), 1139 Atami (9.35 km), 3737 Beckman (14.36 km), 1474 Beira (15.46 km), 5682 Beresford (7.33 km), 1011 Laodamia (7.39 km), 1727 Mette (5.44 km), 1131 Porzia (7.13 km), 1235 Schorria (5.55 km), 985 Rosina (8.18 km), 1310 Villigera (15.24 km), and 1468 Zomba (7 km), which are smaller than the largest members of this dynamical group, namely, 132 Aethra, 323 Brucia (former Mars-crosser), 1508 Kemi, 2204 Lyyli and 512 Taurinensis, all larger than 20 kilometers.
26858 Misterrogers, provisional designation 1993 FR, is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the asteroid belt, approximately 5.1 miles in diameter. It was discovered on March 21, 1993, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the Palomar Observatory in California. The likely S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 8.0 hours. It was named after children's television host Fred Rogers.
1065 Amundsenia, provisional designation 1926 PD, is a stony asteroid and sizeable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the inner asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 August 1926, by Soviet astronomer Sergey Belyavsky at the Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The asteroid was named after Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen.
1131 Porzia, provisional designation 1929 RO, is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 September 1929, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg Observatory in southwest Germany. The asteroid was named after Porcia wife of Brutus, who assassinated Julius Caesar.
(9992) 1997 TG19 is a stony asteroid and eccentric Mars-crosser, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 8 October 1997, by Japanese astronomers Tetsuo Kagawa and Takeshi Urata at Gekko Observatory near Shizuoka, Japan.
19982 Barbaradoore, provisional designation 1990 BJ, is an eccentric, stony Phocaea asteroid and a recent Mars-crosser from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 22 January 1990, by American astronomer Eleanor Helin at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named after Barbara Doore, a cousin of the discoverer.
4029 Bridges, provisional designation 1982 KC1, is a stony asteroid and binary system from the middle regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter.
7505 Furusho, provisional designation 1997 AM2, is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 3 January 1997, by Japanese astronomer Takao Kobayashi at the Ōizumi Observatory in the Kantō region of Japan. The assumed S-type asteroid is likely elongated in shape and has a rotation period of 4.1 hours. It was named for Japanese astronomer Reiko Furusho.
7369 Gavrilin, provisional designation 1975 AN, is a stony Phocaean asteroid, sizable Mars-crosser, and binary system on an eccentric orbit from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 January 1975, by Russian astronomer Tamara Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula. The assumed S-type asteroid has a long rotation period of 49.1 hours. It was named after Russian composer Valery Gavrilin. The discovery of its 2.4-kilometer sized minor-planet moon was announced in October 2008.
15350 Naganuma, provisional designation 1994 VB2, is a stony background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 3 November 1994, by Japanese astronomers Yoshio Kushida and Osamu Muramatsu at the Yatsugatake South Base Observatory. The likely S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 2.5 hours. It was named for the town of Naganuma in northern Japan.
5080 Oja, provisional designation 1976 EB, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 2 March 1976, by astronomer Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist at the Kvistaberg Station of the Uppsala Observatory in Sweden. In 1992, it was named after Estonian–Swedish astronomer Tarmo Oja. The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 7.222 hours.
6244 Okamoto, provisional designation 1990 QF, is a background asteroid and binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 August 1990, by Japanese astronomer Tsutomu Seki at the Geisei Observatory in Kōchi, Japan, and later named after Japanese school teacher Hiroshi Okamoto. The presumed S-type asteroid has a short rotation period of 2.9 hours. The discovery of its minor-planet moon was announced in October 2006.
5040 Rabinowitz, provisional designation 1972 RF, is a stony Phocaea asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory on 15 September 1972. Contrary to most of his discoveries, this asteroid is unrelated to the Palomar–Leiden survey and exclusively credited to Tom Gehrels.
1293 Sonja, provisional designation 1933 SO, is a stony asteroid and bright Mars-crosser from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 26 September 1933, by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte at Uccle Observatory in Belgium. Two nights later, Sonja was independently discovered by Soviet astronomer Grigory Neujmin at Simeiz on the Crimean peninsula. The origin of the asteroid's name is unknown.
3401 Vanphilos, provisional designation 1981 PA, is a stony, eccentric asteroid and sizeable Mars-crosser, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 August 1981, by and at Harvard's Oak Ridge Observatory in Massachusetts, United States.
3402 Wisdom, provisional designation 1981 PB, is a stony asteroid and Mars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 5 August 1981, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona, in the United States. The presumed bright S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 4.99 hours. It was named after American planetary scientist Jack Wisdom.
4608 Wodehouse, provisional designation 1988 BW3, is a background asteroid and suspected trojan of Ceres from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 January 1988, by Belgian astronomer Henri Debehogne at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile. The asteroid was named after English writer P. G. Wodehouse.
1530 Rantaseppä, provisional designation 1938 SG, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Yrjö Väisälä at Turku Observatory in 1938, it was later named after Finnish astronomer Hilkka Rantaseppä-Helenius.
7204 Ondřejov, provisional designation 1995 GH, is a stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 April 1995, by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec at Ondřejov Observatory near Prague, Czech Republic.
10988 Feinstein, provisional designation 1968 OL, is a stony Phocaea asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 28 July 1968, by astronomers at the Félix Aguilar Observatory in El Leoncito, Argentina. The asteroid was named after Argentine astronomer Alejandro Feinstein in 2008.
(89830) 2002 CE, provisional designation 2002 CE, is a stony asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Amor group, approximately 3.1 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 1 February 2002, by astronomers of the LINEAR program at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico, in the United States. This asteroid is one of the largest potentially hazardous asteroid known to exist.
