astro.wikisort.org - Asteroid

12621 Alsufi, provisionally designated 6585 P-L, is a carbonaceous Themistian asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by astronomers during the Palomar–Leiden survey in 1960, and named for medieval Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi.

12621 Alsufi

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. Tom Gehrels
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	24 September 1960
Designations
MPC designation	(12621) Alsufi
Named after	Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (astronomer)[2]
Alternative designations	6585 P-L · 1997 JJ12
Minor planet category	main-belt · Themis[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	56.33 yr (20,576 days)
Aphelion	3.5148 AU
Perihelion	2.6980 AU
Semi-major axis	3.1064 AU
Eccentricity	0.1315
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.48 yr (2,000 days)
Mean anomaly	142.13°
Mean motion	0° 10m 48s / day
Inclination	2.4308°
Longitude of ascending node	148.06°
Argument of perihelion	204.34°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	6.76 km (calculated)[3]
Synodic rotation period	4.7194±0.0024 h[4]
Geometric albedo	0.08 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	L[5] · C[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.9[1] · 13.91±0.26[5] · 13.761±0.014 (R)[4] · 14.21[3]

Discovery

Alsufi was discovered on 24 September 1960, by Dutch astronomer couple Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, on photographic plates taken by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at the U.S. Palomar Observatory, California.[6] No precoveries were taken prior to its discovery observation.[6]

Palomar–Leiden survey

The survey designation "P-L" stands for Palomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory and Leiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitful Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory where astrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery of several thousand minor planets.[7]

Classification and orbit

It is a member of the Themis family, a dynamical group of outer-belt asteroids with nearly coplanar ecliptical orbits. The C-type asteroid is also classified as a rather rare L-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS' large-scale survey.[5] It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.7–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 6 months (2,000 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]

Physical characteristics

A rotational lightcurve of this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory, California, in January 2012. It gave a rotation period of 4.7194±0.0024 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.71 in magnitude (U=2).[4] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 6.8 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.21.[3]

Naming

This minor planet is named in honor of 10th-century Persian astronomer Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (A.D. 903–986), also known by his western name, Azophi. Working in Isfahan, he produced his influential star atlas around A.D. 963. The atlas is based on both, Ptolemy's Almagest and on pre-Islamic star lore, and contains the earliest description of the Andromeda Galaxy.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 January 2008 (M.P.C. 61764).[8] The lunar crater Azophi is also named in his honour.

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
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (10001)-(15000) – Minor Planet Center
• 12621 Alsufi at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 12621 Alsufi at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

На других языках

---

[de] (12621) Alsufi

(12621) Alsufi ist ein Asteroid des äußeren Hauptgürtels, der am 24. September 1960 von dem niederländischen Astronomenehepaar Cornelis Johannes van Houten und Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld entdeckt wurde. Die Entdeckung geschah im Rahmen des Palomar-Leiden-Surveys, bei dem von Tom Gehrels mit dem 120-cm-Oschin-Schmidt-Teleskop des Palomar-Observatoriums aufgenommene Feldplatten an der Universität Leiden durchmustert wurden.

---

- [en] 12621 Alsufi

---

---