astro.wikisort.org - Asteroid

120375 Kugel, provisional designation: 2005 PB₆, is a background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 10 August 2005, by French amateur astronomer Claudine Rinner at her Ottmarsheim Observatory (224) in France.[1] The stony S/Q-type asteroid in the region of the Florian clan has a tentative rotation period of 6.9 hours.[5] It was named after French astronomer François Kugel.[1]

120375 Kugel

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	C. Rinner
Discovery site	Ottmarsheim Obs.
Discovery date	10 August 2005
Designations
MPC designation	(120375) Kugel
Named after	François Kugel[1] (French astronomer)
Alternative designations	2005 PB6 · 1998 SM108 2001 KE74
Minor planet category	main-belt[1][2] · (inner) background[3][4] · near-Flora[5]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 1 July 2021 (JD 2459396.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	22.53 yr (8,228 d)
Aphelion	2.8289 AU
Perihelion	1.8077 AU
Semi-major axis	2.3183 AU
Eccentricity	0.2202
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.53 yr (1,289 d)
Mean anomaly	189.77°
Mean motion	0° 16m 45.12s / day
Inclination	2.7591°
Longitude of ascending node	229.91°
Argument of perihelion	97.616°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	1.05 km (calculated)[5]
Synodic rotation period	6.923±0.0085 h[6]
Geometric albedo	0.24 (assumed)[5]
Spectral type	S/Q (SDSS-MOC)[7]
Absolute magnitude (H)	16.619±0.003 (R)[6] 16.7[2] · 17.07[5]

Orbit and classification

Kugel is a non-family asteroid of the main belt's background population when applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements.[3][4] Based on osculating Keplerian orbital elements, the asteroid has also been considered a member of the Flora family (402), a giant asteroid clan and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main belt.[5]

It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.8–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,289 days; semi-major axis of 2.32 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The body's observation arc begins with its first observation as 1998 SM₁₀₈ at Lincoln Laboratory ETS in September 1998, nearly 7 years prior to its official discovery observation at Ottmarsheim.[1]

Naming

This minor planet was named after French amateur astronomer François Kugel (born 1959), an active observer of comets and a collaborator of the discoverer. He has founded the Chante-Perdrix Observatory (A77) in 2005.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 6 August 2009 (M.P.C. 66728).[8]

Physical characteristics

In the SDSS-based taxonomy, Kugel has an SQ-type that transitions between the common S-type and less common Q-type asteroids.[7]

Rotation period

In August 2012, a rotational lightcurve of Kugel was obtained from photometric observations in the R-band by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a tentative rotation period of 6.923±0.0085 hours with a weak brightness amplitude of 0.09 magnitude (U=1).[6] As of 2021, no secure period has been obtained.[5]

Diameter and albedo

Kugel has not been observed by any of the space-based surveys such as the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the Akari satellite or IRAS. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora the parent body of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 1.05 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 17.07.[5]

References

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (120001)-(125000) – Minor Planet Center
• 120375 Kugel at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 120375 Kugel at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

---