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5542 Moffatt

Main-belt asteroid

Field	Value
minorplanet	yes
name	5542 Moffatt
background	#D6D6D6
discovery_ref
discoverer	Perth Obs.
discovery_site	Perth Obs.
discovered	6 August 1978
mpc_name	(5542) Moffatt
alt_names	1986 LL
named_after	Ethelwin Moffatt
(Australian philanthropist)
mp_category	main-belt(middle)
MariaEunomia
orbit_ref
epoch	23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
uncertainty	0
observation_arc	39.71 yr (14,505 d)
aphelion	3.0022 AU
perihelion	2.1727 AU
semimajor	2.5874 AU
eccentricity	0.1603
period	4.16 yr (1,520 d)
mean_anomaly	128.69°
mean_motion	/ day
inclination	15.877°
asc_node	116.56°
arg_peri	263.20°
mean_diameter
(calculated)
rotation

albedo	(assumed)

spectral_type	S (assumed)
abs_magnitude	12.1
12.3

(Australian philanthropist) MariaEunomia (calculated)

12.3

5542 Moffatt, provisional designation , is a Marian asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 9 km in diameter. It was discovered on 6 August 1978, by astronomers at the Perth Observatory in Bickley, Australia. The likely S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 5.19 hours. It was named for Australian Ethelwin Moffatt, a benefactor of the discovering observatory.

Orbit and classification

Moffatt is a core member of the Maria family (506), a large intermediate belt family of stony asteroids. Alternatively, it has also been assigned to the stony Eunomia family (502), one of the most prominent families in the intermediate main belt with more than 5,000 members.

It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,520 days; semi-major axis of 2.59 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 16° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with its first observation at Palomar Observatory in July 1978, a month prior to its official discovery observation at Bickley.

Physical characteristics

Moffatt is an assumed stony S-type asteroid.

Rotation period

In November 2011, a rotational lightcurve of Moffatt was obtained from photometric observations by Chinese astronomers using the SARA telescopes of the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy at Kitt Peak and CTIO. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 5.187 hours and a brightness variation of 0.12 magnitude (). This supersedes a previous result from a fragmentary lightcurve by that gave a period of 5.195 hours with an amplitude of 0.27 magnitude ().

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Moffatt measures 8.597 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.345. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.21 – derived from 15 Eunomia, the parent body of the Eunomia family – and calculates a diameter of 10.06 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.3.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Australian Ethelwin Moffatt (née Winzar, born 1926), a benefactor of the discovering Perth Observatory and a direct descendant of John Flamsteed (1646–1719), the first Astronomer Royal. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 September 2001 (M.P.C. 43380).

References

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.

maria-asteroids discoveries-by-the-perth-observatory named-minor-planets astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1978

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