astro.wikisort.org - Asteroid

21062 Iasky, provisional designation 1991 JW₁, is a dark background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 19 kilometers (12 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 13 May 1991, by American astronomers Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California. It was named for Australian geophysicist Robert Iasky.[1]

21062 Iasky

Discovery [1]
Discovered by	C. Shoemaker E. Shoemaker
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	13 May 1991
Designations
MPC designation	(21062) Iasky
Named after	Robert Iasky [1] (Australian geophysicist)
Alternative designations	1991 JW1 · 1990 EO9 2000 AE168
Minor planet category	main-belt [1][2] · (outer) background [3][4]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	35.85 yr (13,093 d)
Aphelion	3.1471 AU
Perihelion	2.9420 AU
Semi-major axis	3.0445 AU
Eccentricity	0.0337
Orbital period (sidereal)	5.31 yr (1,940 d)
Mean anomaly	316.99°
Mean motion	0° 11m 7.8s / day
Inclination	23.571°
Longitude of ascending node	149.18°
Argument of perihelion	221.51°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	19.034±0.210 km[5]
Geometric albedo	0.063±0.004[5]
Absolute magnitude (H)	12.4[1][2]

Orbit and classification

Iasky is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.[3][4] It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.9–3.1 AU once every 5 years and 4 months (1,940 days; semi-major axis of 3.04 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.03 and an inclination of 24° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The body's observation arc begins in November 1982, with its first observations taken by the Siding Spring Observatory and published with the Digitized Sky Survey later on.[1]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Australian geophysicist Robert Iasky (born 1956), who discovered the 120-kilometer-sized Woodleigh crater in the Carnarvon Basin of Western Australia while working with the Geological Survey of Western Australia.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 May 2003 (M.P.C. 48396).[6]

Physical characteristics

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Iasky measures 19.034 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.063,[5] which is typical for a carbonaceous C-type asteroid. As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Iasky has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[2][7]

In literature

In his 1994 book Pale Blue Dot, Astronomer Carl Sagan speculated on the nature of 1991 JW₁ (Iasky):

Asteroid 1991JW has an orbit very much like the Earth's and is even easier to get to than 4660 Nereus. But its orbit seems too similar to the Earth's for it to be a natural object. Perhaps it's some lost upper stage of the Saturn V Apollo moon rocket".[8]

This is however quite mysterious, as the orbit of 20162 Iasky is located in the outer asteroid belt.

References

External links

• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (20001)-(25000) – Minor Planet Center
• 21062 Iasky at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 21062 Iasky at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

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