6102 Visby

6102 Visby
Discovery [1]
Discovered byUESAC
Discovery siteLa Silla Obs.
Discovery date21 March 1993
Designations
(6102) Visby
Named after
Visby (Swedish town)[2]
1993 FQ25 · 1990 TV11
1991 YQ2
main-belt · (middle)
background
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc27.87 yr (10,178 days)
Aphelion3.0260 AU
Perihelion2.1704 AU
2.5982 AU
Eccentricity0.1646
4.19 yr (1,530 days)
198.43°
0° 14m 7.08s / day
Inclination1.7601°
310.81°
358.44°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions4.473±0.168 km[3][4]
5.16 km (calculated)[5]
3.28±0.01 h[6]
0.20 (assumed)[5]
0.292±0.077[3][4]
S [5][7]
13.7[3] · 13.72±0.21[7] · 13.76±0.18 (R)[6] · 13.8[1][5]

6102 Visby, provisional designation 1993 FQ25, is a stony background asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in diameter.

The asteroid was discovered on 21 March 1993, during the Uppsala-ESO Survey of Asteroids and Comets (UESAC) at the ESO's La Silla Observatory site in northern Chile.[8] It is UESAC's lowest numbered discoveries (among more than 1,100 asteroids). It was named for the Swedish town of Visby.[2]

Orbit and classification

Visby is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. 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 (1,530 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.16 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] A first precovery was taken at Palomar Observatory in 1989, extending the body's observation arc by 4 years prior to its official discovery observation at La Silla.[8]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Visby, a Swedish town on the island of Gotland, known for its medieval and Hanseatic history (also see List of Gotland-related asteroids).[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 September 1999 (M.P.C. 36126).[9]

Physical characteristics

Visby has been characterized as a common S-type asteroid by PanSTARRS' photometric survey.

Rotation period

A rotational lightcurve of Visby was obtained from photometric observations at the Palomar Transient Factory in February 2013. It gave a rotation period of 3.28±0.01 hours with a brightness variation of 0.28 in magnitude (U=2+).[6]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Visby measures 4.5 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.29,[3][4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 5.2 kilometers.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 6102 Visby (1993 FQ25)" (2017-02-11 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(6102) Visby". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (6102) Visby. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 509. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_5647. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  3. ^ a b c d Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90.
  4. ^ a b c 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. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e "LCDB Data for (6102) Visby". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Chang, Chan-Kao; Ip, Wing-Huen; Lin, Hsing-Wen; Cheng, Yu-Chi; Ngeow, Chow-Choong; Yang, Ting-Chang; et al. (June 2014). "313 New Asteroid Rotation Periods from Palomar Transient Factory Observations". The Astrophysical Journal. 788 (1): 21. arXiv:1405.1144. Bibcode:2014ApJ...788...17C. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/788/1/17. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  7. ^ a b Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  8. ^ a b "6102 Visby (1993 FQ25)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  9. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 14 July 2016.