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3255 Tholen
Discovery
Discovered by	E. Bowell
Discovery site	Anderson Mesa Stn.
Discovery date	2 September 1980
Designations
MPC designation	(3255) Tholen
Named after	David J. Tholen ; (American astronomer)
Alternative designations	1980 RA · 1969 SD
Minor planet category	Mars-crosser
Orbital characteristics
	Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
	Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	48.67 yr (17,775 d)
Aphelion	3.2354 AU
Perihelion	1.5089 AU
Semi-major axis	2.3721 AU
Eccentricity	0.3639
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.65 yr (1,334 d)
Mean anomaly	59.215°
Mean motion	0° 16m 11.28s / day
Inclination	21.353°
Longitude of ascending node	337.22°
Argument of perihelion	79.142°
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	4.023±0.854 km; 5.08±1.02 km; 6.76±0.17 km
Synodic rotation period	2.95±0.01 h
Geometric albedo	0.142; 0.299; 0.341
Spectral type	SMASS = S ; S (Bus–DeMeo)
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.4; 13.60

3255 Tholen, provisional designation 1980 RA, is a stony asteroid, Mars-crosser and relatively fast rotator, that measures approximately 5.1 kilometers (3.2 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 2 September 1980, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona.^[1] The S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 2.95 hours.^[4] It was later named after American astronomer David Tholen.^[2]

Orbit and classification

Tholen is a Mars-crossing asteroid, crossing the orbit of Mars at 1.666 AU. Members of this dynamically unstable group are located between the main belt and near-Earth populations. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.5–3.2 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,334 days; semi-major axis of 2.37 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.36 and an inclination of 21° with respect to the ecliptic.^[3] In September 1969, it was first observed as 1969 SD at the Argentinian El Leoncito site, extending the body's observation arc by 11 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.^[1]

Naming

This minor planet was named after David J. Tholen (born 1955), a discoverer of minor planets and planetary scientist at the Institute for Astronomy of the University of Hawaii, known for his eight-color taxonomic scheme on minor planets.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 14 April 1987 (M.P.C. 11749).^[10]

Physical characteristics

In the SMASS classification, as well as in the Bus–DeMeo classification, Tholen is a common S-type asteroid.^[3]^[9]

Diameter and albedo

According to the space-based survey carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures between 4.0 and 6.8 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.14 and 0.34, respectively,^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 5.1 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.84.^[4]

Rotation period

Several rotational lightcurves were obtained for this asteroid from photometric observations.

In September 2013, Italian astronomer Andrea Ferrero at the Bigmuskie Observatory (B88) in Mombercelli, Italy, derived a rotation period of 2.947±0.001 hours with a brightness variation of 0.11 in magnitude (U=2),^[11] while two month later, in November 2013, astronomer Brian A. Skiff obtained two lightcurves that both gave a period of 2.95 and an amplitude of 0.24 and 0.28 in magnitude, respectively (U=3-/3-).^[a]

The results supersede two older lightcurves from 1991 and 2002, that gave a period of 3±1 and 6 hours, respectively (U=1/1).^[12]^[13]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Skiff, B.A. (2013) web: rotation period 2.95±0.01 and 2.95±0.02 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.24 and 0.28 mag, respectively. Quality code is 3-/3-. Summary figures for (3255) Tholen at the LCDB.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "3255 Tholen (1980 RA)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(3255) Tholen". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (3255) Tholen. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 271. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_3256. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 3255 Tholen (1980 RA)" (2018-05-20 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c "LCDB Data for (3255) Tholen". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 13 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mainzer, A. K.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; Kramer, E. A.; Masiero, J. R.; et al. (June 2016). "NEOWISE Diameters and Albedos V1.0". NASA Planetary Data System: EAR–A–COMPIL–5–NEOWISEDIAM–V1.0. Bibcode:2016PDSS..247.....M. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c Nugent, C. R.; Mainzer, A.; Masiero, J.; Bauer, J.; Cutri, R. M.; Grav, T.; et al. (December 2015). "NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year One: Preliminary Asteroid Diameters and Albedos". The Astrophysical Journal. 814 (2): 13. arXiv:1509.02522. Bibcode:2015ApJ...814..117N. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/117. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Alí-Lagoa, V.; Delbo', M. (July 2017). "Sizes and albedos of Mars-crossing asteroids from WISE/NEOWISE data". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 603: 8. arXiv:1705.10263. Bibcode:2017A&A...603A..55A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201629917.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
^ ^a ^b ^c "Asteroid 3255 Tholen". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
^ Ferrero, Andrea (January 2014). "Period Determination of Four Main-belt Asteroids in Mid-2013". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 41 (1): 24–25. Bibcode:2014MPBu...41...24F. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
^ Wisniewski, W. Z.; Michalowski, T. M.; Harris, A. W.; McMillan, R. S. (March 1995). "Photoelectric Observations of 125 Asteroids". Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. 26: 1511. Bibcode:1995LPI....26.1511W. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
^ Behrend, Raoul. "Asteroids and comets rotation curves – (3255) Tholen". Geneva Observatory. Retrieved 13 August 2016.