1988 Delores

1988 Delores
Discovery[1]
Discovered byIndiana University
(Indiana Asteroid Program)
Discovery siteGoethe Link Obs.
Discovery date28 September 1952
Designations
(1988) Delores
Named after
Delores Owings
(Indiana University)[2]
1952 SV · 1951 GF1
1952 UU · 1971 UE
1973 GH
main-belt · Flora[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc64.59 yr (23,591 days)
Aphelion2.3749 AU
Perihelion1.9336 AU
2.1543 AU
Eccentricity0.1024
3.16 yr (1,155 days)
226.97°
0° 18m 42.12s / day
Inclination4.2519°
106.38°
235.01°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions4.60 km (calculated)[3]
5.761±0.035 km[1][4]
5.818±0.097 km[5]
88.1521±0.3555 h[6]
0.1895±0.0252[5]
0.193±0.024[1][4]
0.24 (assumed)[3]
S[3]
13.401±0.002 (R)[6] · 13.6[1][5] · 13.85[3]

1988 Delores, provisional designation 1952 SV, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter.

It was discovered on 28 September 1952, by IU's Indiana Asteroid Program at the Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States, and named after Delores Owings, a member of the program.[7]

Classification and orbit

Delores is a stony S-type asteroid and 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 1.9–2.4 AU once every 3 years and 2 months (1,155 days).

Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] It was first observed as 1951 GF1 at the McDonald Observatory in April 1951, yet the astrometric data from this observation remained unused to extend the body's observation arc prior to its official discovery.[7]

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

A rotational lightcurve of Delores was obtained at the Palomar Transient Factory in October 2012. It gave a rotation period of 88 hours and a brightness variation of 0.74 magnitude (U=2).[6]

While not being a slow rotator, a period of 88 hours is significantly above average, as most minor planets rotate once every 2–20 hours around their axis. It has also a high brightness amplitude, which typically indicates that the body has a non-spheroidal shape.

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Delores measures 5.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.19,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 — derived from 8 Flora, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 4.6 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.85.[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Delores Owings, member in the Indiana Asteroid Program of Indiana University, collaborator with Tom Gehrels on the determination of absolute magnitudes of minor planets, who became the program's supervisor of astrometric measurements on photographic plates. The naming was suggested by Paul Herget, the then director of the Minor Planet Center (MPC).[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 June 1977 (M.P.C. 4190).[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1988 Delores (1952 SV)" (2017-05-01 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(1988) Delores". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1988) Delores. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 161. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1989. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "LCDB Data for (1988) Delores". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Grav, T.; Mainzer, A. K.; Nugent, C. R.; Bauer, J. M.; Stevenson, R.; et al. (August 2014). "Main-belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE: Near-infrared Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 791 (2): 11. arXiv:1406.6645. Bibcode:2014ApJ...791..121M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/121. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d 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.
  6. ^ a b c Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  7. ^ a b "1988 Delores (1952 SV)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  8. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. "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.