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31192 Aigoual
Discovery
Discovered by	Pises Obs.
Discovery site	Pises Obs.
Discovery date	29 December 1997
Designations
MPC designation	(31192) Aigoual
Named after	Mont Aigoual; (French mountain)
Alternative designations	1997 YH16 · 1978 UB4; 1994 CG10 · 1996 RW26; 2001 QS93
Minor planet category	main-belt · (middle) ; Xizang
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	38.50 yr (14,063 days)
Aphelion	3.2655 AU
Perihelion	2.2442 AU
Semi-major axis	2.7549 AU
Eccentricity	0.1854
Orbital period (sidereal)	4.57 yr (1,670 days)
Mean anomaly	224.26°
Mean motion	0° 12m 56.16s / day
Inclination	3.4534°
Longitude of ascending node	65.575°
Argument of perihelion	278.23°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	7.34 km (calculated)
Synodic rotation period	4.3291±0.0009 h
Geometric albedo	0.057 (assumed)
Spectral type	C (assumed)
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.9 · 13.948±0.003 (R) · 14.00±0.24 · 14.4

31192 Aigoual (provisional designation 1997 YH₁₆) is a Xizang asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 December 1997, by staff members of the Pises Observatory in southern France.^[7] The asteroid was named after Mont Aigoual in France.^[2]

Orbit and classification

Aigoual is a member of the small Xizang family (536),^[4] named after 2344 Xizang.^[8] It orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,670 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] The asteroid was first identified as 1978 UB₄ at Palomar Observatory in 1978, extending the body's observation arc by 19 years prior to its official discovery observation.^[7]

Physical characteristics

Aigoual is an assumed carbonaceous C-type asteroid,^[3] while the overall spectral type of the Xizang family has not yet been evaluated.^[8]^: 23

Rotational lightcurve

In October 2010, a rotational lightcurve of Aigoual was obtained from photometric observations made by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 4.3291 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.56 magnitude (U=2).^[5]

Diameter and albedo estimate

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a carbonaceous asteroid of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 7.3 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.4.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Mont Aigoual, in the Cévennes National Park, where the discovering observatory is located. It is the highest mountain of the Cévennes in the Massif Central, France.^[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 March 2002 (M.P.C. 45237).^[9]