1851 Lacroute

1851 Lacroute

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	L. Boyer
Discovery site	Algiers Obs.
Discovery date	9 November 1950
Designations
MPC designation	(1851) Lacroute
Named after	Pierre Lacroute (French astronomer)[2]
Alternative designations	1950 VA
Minor planet category	main-belt · (inner)
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	66.35 yr (24,236 days)
Aphelion	3.7003 AU
Perihelion	2.5044 AU
Semi-major axis	3.1024 AU
Eccentricity	0.1927
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.46 yr (1,996 days)
Mean anomaly	85.690°
Mean motion	0° 10^m 49.44^s / day
Inclination	1.6660°
Longitude of ascending node	24.766°
Argument of perihelion	343.20°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	16.89 km (IRAS)[3] 18.158±0.108 km[4]
Geometric albedo	0.049±0.007[4] 0.0745±0.009 (IRAS)[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.7[1]

1851 Lacroute, provisional designation 1950 VA, is an asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter.

It was discovered on 9 November 1950, by French astronomer Louis Boyer at the Algiers Observatory in the capital of Algeria, Northern Africa, and named after French astronomer Pierre Lacroute.[2][5]

Orbit and classification

Lacroute orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.5–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (1,996 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] As no precoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made, the body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation in 1950.[5]

Physical characteristics

According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Lacroute measures 16.9 and 18.2 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.049 and 0.074, respectively.[3][4] As of 2016, the body's spectral type, as well as its rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1][6]

Naming

This minor planet was named in honor of French astronomer Pierre Lacroute (1906–1993), a known astrometrist, president of IAU's Commission 24 in the 1970s, and director of the Observatory of Strasbourg, instrumental in the establishment of the Stellar Data Center (also see SIMBAD).[2]

Lacroute also made an independent reduction of the astrometric star catalogue AGK3, using a technique involving overlapping photographic plates.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 August 1978 (M.P.C. 4419).[7]

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1851 Lacroute (1950 VA)" (2017-03-18 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1851) Lacroute". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1851) Lacroute. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 148. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1852. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. Tedesco, E. F.; Noah, P. V.; Noah, M.; Price, S. D. (October 2004). "IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0". NASA Planetary Data System – IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0. Bibcode:2004PDSS...12.....T. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
4. Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; et al. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
5. "1851 Lacroute (1950 VA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
6. "LCDB Data for (1851) Lacroute". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 8 June 2017.
7. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2009). "Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 221. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4. ISBN 978-3-642-01964-7.

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)-(5000) – Minor Planet Center
• 1851 Lacroute at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 1851 Lacroute at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters