2014 Vasilevskis

2014 Vasilevskis

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	A. R. Klemola
Discovery site	Lick Obs.
Discovery date	2 May 1973
Designations
MPC designation	(2014) Vasilevskis
Named after	Stanislavs Vasilevskis (astronomer; staff member)[2]
Alternative designations	1973 JA
Minor planet category	main-belt · Phocaea[3][4]
Orbital characteristics[5]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	44.00 yr (16,072 days)
Aphelion	3.0908 AU
Perihelion	1.7134 AU
Semi-major axis	2.4021 AU
Eccentricity	0.2867
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.72 yr (1,360 days)
Mean anomaly	295.50°
Mean motion	0° 15^m 52.92^s / day
Inclination	21.376°
Longitude of ascending node	204.09°
Argument of perihelion	82.819°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	9.044±0.043 km[6] 9.071±0.051 km[7] 11.84±0.81 km[8]
Synodic rotation period	15.6±0.1 h[9] 32.16±0.02 h[10] 36.25 h[11] 39±2 h[12]
Geometric albedo	0.23 (assumed)[3] 0.265±0.038[8] 0.309±0.041[6] 0.4513±0.1032[7]
Spectral type	S[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	11.7[7][8] · 12.3[5][3] · 12.76±1.16[13]

2014 Vasilevskis, provisional designation 1973 JA, is a stony Phocaean asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) in diameter. It was discovered on 2 May 1973, by American astronomer Arnold Klemola at the U.S. Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, California. It was named after Stanislavs Vasilevskis, staff member at the discovering observatory.[2][1]

Orbit and classification

Vasilevskis is a member of the Phocaea family (701),[4] a group of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics, named after the family's namesake, 25 Phocaea. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.7–3.1 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,360 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.29 and an inclination of 21° with respect to the ecliptic.[5] No precoveries were taken prior to its discovery.[1]

Physical characteristics

Vasilevskis has been characterized as a common S-type asteroid.[3]

Rotation period

In May 2014, a photometric lightcurve analysis by American astronomer Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies (U81), California, gave a rotation period of 32.16±0.02 hours with a brightness variation of 0.26 in magnitude (U=3-).[10]

Alternative measurements also made in 2014, include an observation by astronomer René Roy, which rendered a period of 39±2 hours with an amplitude of 0.31 in magnitude (U=2),[12] and an analysis at the Burleith Observatory (I13), with a period of 15.6±0.1 hours, or 49% of the first period (U=2-).[9]

Diameter and albedo

According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures between 9.1 and 11.8 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.265 and 0.451.[8][7] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo 0.23 – derived from 25 Phocaea, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 9.6 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 12.3.[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after astronomer Stanislavs Vasilevskis (died 1988), long-time staff member at the discovering Lick Observatory from 1949 to 1974.[2]

A specialist for astrometric instrumentation, in particular the computational analysis of the position of astronomical objects from photographic plates, he has also performed broad astronomical surveys to obtain the parallax and proper motion of stars.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 June 1977 (M.P.C. 4190).[14]

References

1. "2014 Vasilevskis (1973 JA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2014) Vasilevskis". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (2014) Vasilevskis. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 163. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2015. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
3. "LCDB Data for (2014) Vasilevskis". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
4. "Asteroid 2014 Vasilevskis". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
5. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2014 Vasilevskis (1973 JA)" (2017-05-03 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
6. 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 8 December 2016.
7. 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. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
8. Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
9. Schmidt, Richard E. (January 2015). "NIR Minor Planet Photometry from Burleith Observatory: 2014 February - June". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 42 (1): 1–3. Bibcode:2015MPBu...42....1S. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
10. Stephens, Robert D. (October 2014). "Asteroids Observed from CS3: 2014 April-June". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (4): 226–230. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41..226S. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
11. Holliday, B. (December 1995). "Lightcurve Observations of Minor Planets 1508 Kemi and 2014 Vasilevskis". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 22.: 43. Bibcode:1995MPBu...22...43H. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
12. Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (2014) Vasilevskis". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
13. 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. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
14. 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.