2065 Spicer, provisional designation 1959 RN, is a dark and eccentric asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 17 kilometers in diameter.
Discovery [1] | |
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Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
Discovery date | 9 September 1959 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | (2065) Spicer |
Named after | Edward H. Spicer (American anthropologist)[2] |
Alternative designations | 1959 RN · 1952 BS1 1955 XC · 1968 QX 1973 YR2 |
Minor planet category | main-belt · (middle) [3] |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 60.34 yr (22,038 days) |
Aphelion | 3.3313 AU |
Perihelion | 2.0659 AU |
Semi-major axis | 2.6986 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.2345 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 4.43 yr (1,619 days) |
Mean anomaly | 350.70° |
Mean motion | 0° 13m 20.28s / day |
Inclination | 6.4348° |
Longitude of ascending node | 328.09° |
Argument of perihelion | 66.381° |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 16.721±0.088 km[4][5] 18.43 km (calculated)[3] |
Synodic rotation period | 18.165±0.005 h[6][lower-alpha 1] |
Geometric albedo | 0.057 (assumed)[3] 0.062±0.007[4][5] |
Spectral type | SMASS = Xc [1] · P [4] · X [3] |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.03±0.23[7] · 12.2[4] · 12.4[1][3] |
The asteroid was discovered on 9 September 1959, by the Indiana Asteroid Program at Goethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States, and named after American anthropologist Edward H. Spicer.[2][8]
Spicer orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.1–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 5 months (1,619 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
Spicer's spectra is that of an X-type and Xc-type in SMASS classification scheme, which indicates a transitional stage to the carbonaceous C-type asteroid.[1] It has also been characterized as a P-type asteroid by the NEOWISE mission.[4]
In January 2005, photometric measurements of Spicer made by American astronomer Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Observatory (716) gave a lightcurve with a well-defined rotation period of 18.165±0.005 hours and a brightness variation of 1.0±0.03 magnitude (U=3).[6][lower-alpha 1]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Spicer measures 16.721 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.062,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 18.43 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 12.4.[3]
This minor planet was named after American anthropologist Edward H. Spicer (1906–1983), professor at the University of Arizona, and a former president of the American Anthropological Association.[2]
In 1955, Spicer's negotiations with the local district and tribal councils were instrumental for receiving permission to evaluate the location where the Kitt Peak National Observatory was later built.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 26 May 1983 (M.P.C. 7944).[9]
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