astro.wikisort.org - Asteroid

12838 Adamsmith, provisional designation 1997 EL₅₅, is a stony Koronis asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 9 March 1997, by Belgian astronomer Eric Walter Elst at ESO's La Silla Observatory in northern Chile.[6] It was named after Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith.[2]

12838 Adamsmith

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	E. W. Elst
Discovery site	La Silla Obs.
Discovery date	9 March 1997
Designations
MPC designation	(12838) Adamsmith
Named after	Adam Smith (moral philosopher)[2]
Alternative designations	1997 EL55 · 1987 DX6 1997 HO14 · 1999 RX2
Minor planet category	main-belt · Koronis[3]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	30.19 yr (11,026 days)
Aphelion	3.0762 AU
Perihelion	2.6925 AU
Semi-major axis	2.8843 AU
Eccentricity	0.0665
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.90 yr (1,789 days)
Mean anomaly	194.63°
Mean motion	0° 12m 4.32s / day
Inclination	1.1631°
Longitude of ascending node	322.05°
Argument of perihelion	89.801°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	6.16 km (calculated)[3]
Synodic rotation period	10.9090±0.0031 h[4]
Geometric albedo	0.24 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	S[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.0[1] · 12.70±0.34[5] · 12.770±0.002 (R)[4] · 13.22[3]

Orbit and classification

Adamsmith is a member of the Koronis family, a group of co-planar, stony asteroids in the outer main-belt, named after 158 Koronis. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 11 months (1,789 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic.[3]

It was first identified as 1987 DX₆ at the discovering observatory in 1987, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 10 years prior to its official discovery observation.[6]

Physical characteristics

In January 2011, a rotational lightcurve of Adamsmith was obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 10.9090 hours with a brightness variation of 0.48 magnitude (U=2).[4]

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony Koronian asteroids of 0.24 and calculates a diameter of 6.2 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.22.[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named for the economist Adam Smith (1723–1790), Scottish moral philosopher and principal figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. Known for his works The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), he introduced the concept of the division of labour which represents a qualitative increase in productivity, and suggested that self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center 30 July 2007 (M.P.C. 60299).[7]

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
• 12838 Adamsmith at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 12838 Adamsmith at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

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