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51827 Laurelclark

Main-belt asteroid

Field	Value
minorplanet	yes
name	51827 Laurelclark
background	#D6D6D6
discovery_ref
discoverer	NEAT
discovery_site	Palomar Obs.
discovered	20 July 2001
mpc_name	(51827) Laurelclark
alt_names
named_after	Laurel Clark
(American astronaut)
mp_category	main-belt(outer)
background
orbit_ref
epoch	4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
uncertainty	0
observation_arc	26.09 yr (9,529 days)
aphelion	3.4741 AU
perihelion	2.5885 AU
semimajor	3.0313 AU
eccentricity	0.1461
period	5.28 yr (1,928 days)
mean_anomaly	239.89°
mean_motion	/ day
inclination	10.234°
asc_node	10.644°
arg_peri	92.486°
dimensions	km
albedo
abs_magnitude	14.1

(American astronaut) background

51827 Laurelclark (provisional designation ****) is a background asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 July 2001, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named for astronaut Laurel Clark, who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

Orbit and classification

Laurelclark is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the outer asteroid belt at a distance of 2.6–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,928 days; semi-major axis of 3.03 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.

The body's observation arc begins with its first observation by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak National Observatory in October 1991, almost 10 years prior to its official discovery observation by NEAT at Palomar.

Physical characteristics

Rotation period

As of 2017, no rotational lightcurve of Laurelclark has been obtained from photometric observations. The asteroid's rotation period, poles and shape remain unknown.

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Laurelclark measures 6.005 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.162.

Naming

This minor planet was named after American astronaut and mission specialist Laurel Clark (1961–2003), who was killed in the reentry disaster of Space Shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 6 August 2003 (M.P.C. 49283).

The following asteroids were named in memory of the other six members of STS-107: 51823 Rickhusband, 51824 Mikeanderson, 51825 Davidbrown, 51826 Kalpanachawla, 51828 Ilanramon and 51829 Williemccool.

References

Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info )
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (50001)-(55000) – Minor Planet Center

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

background-asteroids discoveries-by-neat named-minor-planets astronomical-objects-discovered-in-2001

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