2644 Victor Jara

2644 Victor Jara
Discovery [1]
Discovered byN. Chernykh
Discovery siteCrimean Astrophysical Obs.
Discovery date22 September 1973
Designations
(2644) Victor Jara
Named after
Víctor Jara [1]
(Chilean singer and composer)
1973 SO2 · 1979 HD
main-belt [1][2] · (inner)
background [3]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc64.04 yr (23,389 d)
Aphelion2.5286 AU
Perihelion1.8116 AU
2.1701 AU
Eccentricity0.1652
3.20 yr (1,168 d)
10.705°
0° 18m 29.88s / day
Inclination2.6810°
347.62°
309.35°
Physical characteristics
5.914±0.223 km[4]
0.153±0.021[4]
13.3[2]

2644 Victor Jara, provisional designation 1973 SO2, is an asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 22 September 1973, by Soviet-Russian astronomer Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, on the Crimean peninsula. It was named after Chilean singer and composer Víctor Jara.[1]

Orbit and classification

Victor Jara is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population.[3] It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 2 months (1,168 days; semi-major axis of 2.17 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]

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

Physical characteristics

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Victor Jara measures 5.914 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.153.[4]

Rotation period

As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Victor Jara has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[2]

Naming

This minor planet was named by the discoverer after Chilean folk singer and activist Víctor Jara, who was assassinated on 16 September 1973, just six days prior to the planet's discovery. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 15 May 1984 (M.P.C. 8800).[5]

Víctor Jara, a prominent communist political activist in Chile, toured the Soviet Union in the 1960s and praised its culture, its scientific achievements and the friendliness of its working people. He was tortured and murdered shortly after the 1973 Chilean coup d'état led by Army Commander-in-Chief Augusto Pinochet, that ended the government of the socialist Salvador Allende.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "2644 Victor Jara (1973 SO2)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2644 Victor Jara (1973 SO2)" (2017-04-28 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Asteroid 2644 Victor Jara – Proper Elements". AstDyS-2, Asteroids – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. S2CID 118745497. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  5. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 April 2018.