51828 Ilanramon

51828 Ilanramon

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	NEAT
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	20 July 2001
Designations
MPC designation	(51828) Ilanramon
Named after	Ilan Ramon [2] (Israeli astronaut)
Alternative designations	2001 OU39
Minor planet category	main-belt · (middle) Gefion [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	26.95 yr (9,844 days)
Aphelion	3.1311 AU
Perihelion	2.4181 AU
Semi-major axis	2.7746 AU
Eccentricity	0.1285
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.62 yr (1,688 days)
Mean anomaly	76.382°
Mean motion	0° 12^m 47.88^s / day
Inclination	9.4769°
Longitude of ascending node	41.712°
Argument of perihelion	42.469°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	5.549±0.904 km[4][5] 9.24 km (calculated)[6]
Synodic rotation period	3.61±0.43 h[7]
Geometric albedo	0.057 (assumed)[6] 0.1899±0.1093[4][5]
Spectral type	C (assumed)[6]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.7[5] · 13.9[1][6] · 14.03±0.35[8]

51828 Ilanramon (provisional designation 2001 OU₃₉) is a Gefionian asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 July 2001, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named in memory of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.[9]

Orbit and classification

Ilanramon is a member of the Gefion family (516),[3] a large asteroid family named after 1272 Gefion.[10] It orbits the Sun in the intermediate main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,688 days; semi-major axis of 2.77 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

The asteroid's observation arc begins with a precovery from the Digitized Sky Survey taken at Palomar in May 1990, nearly 11 years prior to the body's official discovery observation.[9]

Physical characteristics

Ilanramon is an assumed C-type asteroid,[6] but its membership to the Gefion family and its relatively high albedo (see below) measured by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), indicate that it is likely a stony S-type asteroid.[10]: 23 

Rotation period

In February 2016, a rotational lightcurve of Ilanramon was obtained from photometric observations by a group of Hungarian astronomers based on the Kepler space telescope's K2-mission. Lightcurve analysis gave a short rotation period of 3.61 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.88 magnitude, indicative for a non-spherical shape (U=2).[7]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Ilanramon measures 5.549 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.1899,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and consequently calculates a larger diameter of 9.24 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.9.[6]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Israeli astronaut and payload specialist Ilan Ramon (1954–2003), who was killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on 1 February 2003.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 6 August 2003 (M.P.C. 49283).[11]

The following asteroids were also named in memory of the other six members of STS-107: 51823 Rickhusband, 51824 Mikeanderson, 51825 Davidbrown, 51826 Kalpanachawla, 51827 Laurelclark and 51829 Williemccool.

References

1. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 51828 Ilanramon (2001 OU39)" (2017-04-30 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
2. Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). "(51828) Ilanramon [2.77, 0.13, 9.5]". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 216. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-34361-5_2557. ISBN 978-3-540-34361-5.
3. "Asteroid 51828 Ilanramon – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
4. 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.
5. 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. S2CID 118700974.
6. "LCDB Data for (51828) Ilanramon". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 28 December 2017.
7. Molnár, L.; Pál, A.; Sárneczky, K.; Szabó, R.; Vinkó, J.; Szabó, Gy. M.; et al. (June 2017). "Main-belt Asteroids in the K 2 Uranus Field". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 234 (2): 37. arXiv:1706.06056. doi:10.3847/1538-4365/aaa1a1. S2CID 119423034.
8. 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. S2CID 53493339.
9. "51828 Ilanramon (2001 OU39)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
10. Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 978-0-8165-3213-1. S2CID 119280014.
11. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 December 2017.

External links

• NASA JPL - Space Shuttle Columbia Tribute page Archived 22 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• 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 (50001)-(55000) – Minor Planet Center
• 51828 Ilanramon at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 51828 Ilanramon at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters