| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Farra d'Isonzo Obs. (inc. Luciano Bittesini) |
| Discovery site | Farra d'Isonzo Obs. |
| Discovery date | 30 March 1994 |
| Designations | |
| (8549) Alcide | |
Named after | Alcide Bittesini (father of co-discoverer) [2] |
| 1994 FS | |
| main-belt · Nysa [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 23.31 yr (8,514 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.8912 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9828 AU |
| 2.4370 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1864 |
| 3.80 yr (1,390 days) | |
| 318.71° | |
| 0° 15m 32.76s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.8790° |
| 205.61° | |
| 64.719° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.19 km (calculated) [3] 4.341±0.076 km [4] [5] |
| 3 h [6] | |
| 0.196±0.012 [4] [5] 0.21 (assumed) [3] | |
| S [3] | |
| 14.2 [1] [3] [4] ·14.3±0.4(R) [6] ·14.73±0.25 [7] | |
8549 Alcide, provisional designation 1994 FS, is a stony Nysa asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 March 1994, by a group of amateur astronomers at the Farra d'Isonzo Observatory, Italy, near the border to Slovenia. [8] It was named for Alcide Bittesini, father of co-discoverer Luciano Bittesini. [2]
Alcide is a member of the stony subgroup of the Nysa family, one of the smaller families in the main-belt, named after its namesake, 44 Nysa. The body orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,390 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic. [1] Precoveries were taken at Palomar and Steward Observatory (Kitt Peak) just weeks and days prior to the asteroid's official discovery observation at Farra d'Isonzo. [8]
A rotational lightcurve of Alcide was obtained from photometric observations made by astronomer David Polishook at the ground-based Wise Observatory, Israel, in November 2007. The lightcurve gave a rotation period of 3 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.2 magnitude ( U=2- ). [6]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Alcide measures 4.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.195, [4] [5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.21 and calculates a diameter of 4.2 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.2. [3]
This minor planet was named for Italian high-school teacher of natural sciences, Alcide Bittesini (1913–1981). He was the father of amateur astronomer Luciano Bittesini, who co-discovered the asteroid with his amateur colleagues at the Farra d'Isonzo Observatory in Italy. [2]
At the age of 9, his father fostered his interest in astronomy, when they observed a comet with a homespun telescope made of a pair of glasses, a tin can and a microscope eyepiece. [2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 February 1999 ( M.P.C. 33791). [9]
