2035 Stearns

2035 Stearns

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	J. B. Gibson
Discovery site	El Leoncito Complex
Discovery date	21 September 1973
Designations
MPC designation	(2035) Stearns
Named after	Carl Leo Stearns [1] (American astronomer)
Alternative designations	1973 SC · 1973 UG
Minor planet category	Mars-crosser [2] Hungaria [1][3]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	44.35 yr (16,199 d)
Aphelion	2.1317 AU
Perihelion	1.6366 AU
Semi-major axis	1.8841 AU
Eccentricity	0.1314
Orbital period (sidereal)	2.59 yr (945 d)
Mean anomaly	134.07°
Mean motion	0° 22^m 51.96^s / day
Inclination	27.751°
Longitude of ascending node	77.035°
Argument of perihelion	200.71°
Earth MOID	0.6305 AU (245 LD)
Mars MOID	0.1655 AU
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	4.82±0.52 km[4] 5.28 km (derived)[3] 6.00±1.20 km[5]
Synodic rotation period	51.89±0.20 h[6] 85±0.1 h[7] 93±1 h[8][a]
Geometric albedo	0.40 (assumed)[3] 0.443±0.177[5] 0.65±0.30[4]
Spectral type	Tholen = E [2] SMASS = Xe [2][3][9] B–V = 0.737[2] U–B = 0.280[2] V–R = 0.440[7]
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.61[2][4][5] 13.0[3][10]

2035 Stearns, provisional designation 1973 SC, is a bright Hungaria asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser inside the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 21 September 1973, by American astronomer James Gibson at the Leoncito Astronomical Complex in Argentina.[1] The transitional E-type asteroid has a long rotation period of 93 hours.[3] It was named after American astronomer Carl Leo Stearns.[1]

Orbit and classification

Stearns is a dynamical Hungaria asteroid, a large group that forms the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System.[1][3] It is also a Mars-crossing asteroid, a member of the dynamically unstable group, located between the main belt and near-Earth populations, and crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.666 AU.[2]

The asteroid orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.64–2.13 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (945 days; semi-major axis of 1.88 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 28° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]

The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in January 1954, nearly 20 years prior to its official discovery observation at Leoncito.[1]

Physical characteristics

In the Tholen classification, Stearns is a bright E-type asteroid.[2] while in the SMASS classification and Bus-DeMeo taxonomy, it is an Xe-subtype that transitions from the X-type to the E-type.[9]

Rotation period

Several rotational lightcurve of Stearns have been obtained from photometric observations since 1988.[6][7][8] Analysis of the best-rated lightcurve by Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies (U81) gave a rotation period of 93 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.20 magnitude (U=2+). This makes the asteroid as close slow rotator.[3][a]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Stearns measures between 4.82 and 6.00 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.443 and 0.65.[4][5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for members of the Hungaria family of 0.40, and derives a diameter of 5.28 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.0.[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Carl Leo Stearns (1892–1972), American astronomer at Wesleyan University and Van Vleck Observatory who measured a large number of stellar parallaxes.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 November 1978 (M.P.C. 4548).[11] The lunar crater Stearns was also named in his honor.

Notes

1. Lightcurve plot of (2035) Stearns with a rotation period 93±1 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.20 mag. Taken by Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies (CS3) in 2014. Quality code is 2+. Summary figures at the LCDB.

References

1. "2035 Stearns (1973 SC)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2035 Stearns (1973 SC)" (2018-01-27 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
3. "LCDB Data for (2035) Stearns". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 25 May 2018.
4. Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; et al. (December 2015). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year One: Preliminary Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 814 (2): 13. arXiv:1509.02522. Bibcode:2015ApJ...814..117N. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/117.
5. Alí-Lagoa, V.; Delbo', M. (July 2017). "Sizes and albedos of Mars-crossing asteroids from WISE/NEOWISE data". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 603: 8. arXiv:1705.10263. Bibcode:2017A&A...603A..55A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629917.
6. Warner, Brian D. (July 2011). "Asteroid Lightcurve Analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory: 2010 December- 2011 March". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 38 (3): 142–149. Bibcode:2011MPBu...38..142W. ISSN 1052-8091.
7. Shevchenko, V. G.; Krugly, Yu. N.; Chiorny, V. G.; Belskaya, I. N.; Gaftonyuk, N. M. (August 2003). "Rotation and photometric properties of E-type asteroids". Planetary and Space Science. 51 (9–10): 525–532. Bibcode:2003P&SS...51..525S. doi:10.1016/S0032-0633(03)00076-X.
8. 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.
9. "Asteroid 2035 Stearns". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
10. Wisniewski, W. Z.; Michalowski, T. M.; Harris, A. W.; McMillan, R. S. (March 1995). "Photoelectric Observations of 125 Asteroids". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 26: 1511. Bibcode:1995LPI....26.1511W.
11. 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. Bibcode:2009dmpn.book.....S. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4. ISBN 978-3-642-01964-7.