4001 Ptolemaeus

4001 Ptolemaeus, provisional designation 1949 PV, is a Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 2 August 1949, by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in Heidelberg, Germany. In 1991, the International Astronomical Union named the S-type asteroid after Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy.[1]

4001 Ptolemaeus
Orbit of 4001 Ptolemaeus
Discovery [1]
Discovered byK. Reinmuth
Discovery siteHeidelberg Obs.
Discovery date2 August 1949
Designations
(4001) Ptolemaeus
Pronunciation/tɒləˈmiːəs/
Named after
Ptolemy [1]
(Greco-Roman astronomer)
1949 PV · 1949 QD1
1982 BU9 · 1987 OE
main-belt [1][2] · (inner)
Flora [3]
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc67.75 yr (24,744 d)
Aphelion2.6809 AU
Perihelion1.8940 AU
2.2874 AU
Eccentricity0.1720
3.46 yr (1,264 d)
294.51°
0° 17m 5.64s / day
Inclination5.4568°
130.67°
204.09°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
4.641±0.297 km[4]
5.0 km (est. at 0.24)[5]
0.392±0.056[4]
SMASS = S [2]
13.7[2]

    Orbit and classification

    Ptolemaeus is a member of the Flora family (402),[3] a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[6] It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,264 days; semi-major axis of 2.29 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]

    The body's observation arc begins with its observations as 1949 QD1 at Lowell Observatory on 24 August 1949, or three weeks after its official discovery observation at Heidelberg.[1] On 24 April 1989, Ptolemaeus approached the asteroid 6 Hebe within 5.5 million kilometers at a relative velocity of 3.7 km/s.[2]

    Physical characteristics

    In the SMASS classification, Ptolemaeus is a common, stony S-type asteroid, which is in agreement with the overall spectral type for members of the Flora family.[6]:23

    Diameter and albedo

    According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Ptolemaeus measures 4.641 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.392.[4] Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, assuming a Flora-type typical albedo of 0.24, the asteroid measures 5.0 kilometers for an absolute magnitude of 13.7.[5]

    Rotation period

    As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Ptolemaeus has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, poles and shape remain unknown.[2]

    Naming

    This minor planet was named after 2nd-century Greco-Roman astronomer Ptolemy (Latin: "Ptolemaeus") by IAU's Minor Planet Names Committee. He is best known for his influential Almagest, a mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths. Its ideas dominated astronomy for 1200 years until Copernicus in the early Renaissance.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 21 November 1991 (M.P.C. 19335).[7]

    gollark: Again, timestamp needed?
    gollark: Would you say this is a *good* idea, a *great* idea, or the greatest idea?
    gollark: Oh, and ideatic ideoid: rewrite osmarks.tk search engine™ in Lua instead of JS!
    gollark: (well, ones when ABR was online)
    gollark: GTech™™® ArguScan™ unfortunately has proven unable to narrow down the argument. Discord's search function is bad. I may have to work out how to query my logs of every single message on the entire server ever.

    References
    1. "4001 Ptolemaeus (1949 PV)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
    2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4001 Ptolemaeus (1949 PV)" (2017-05-01 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
    3. "Asteroid 4001 Ptolemaeus – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
    4. Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68.
    5. "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS NASA/JPL. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
    6. Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families. Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131.
    7. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 March 2018.

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.