3192 A'Hearn, provisional designation 1982 BY1, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona, on 30 January 1982.[6]
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 30 January 1982 |
| Designations | |
| (3192) A'Hearn | |
Named after | Michael A'Hearn (astronomer)[2] |
| 1982 BY1 · 1975 JN | |
| main-belt · (inner) [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 41.29 yr (15,081 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7782 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9767 AU |
| 2.3774 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1686 |
| 3.67 yr (1,339 days) | |
| 251.29° | |
| 0° 16m 8.04s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.8791° |
| 56.726° | |
| 91.584° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.361±0.700[4] 5.66 km (calculated)[3] |
| 3.160 h[5] | |
| 0.20 (assumed)[3] 0.354±0.166[4] | |
| SMASS = C [1] · C [3] | |
| 13.6[1][3] | |
The C-type asteroid orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,339 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was obtained at El Leoncito in 1975, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 7 years prior to its discovery.[6]
A rotational lightcurve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by Japanese astronomer Sunao Hasegawa, using the 1.05-meter Schmidt telescope at Kiso Observatory in March 2004. It showed a well-defined rotation period of 3.16 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.20 in magnitude (U=3).[5] According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 4.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.354.[4] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 – despite the fact that the body has been classified as a carbonaceous C-type – and calculates a diameter of 5.7 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.6.[3]
This minor planet was named for American cometary astronomer and professor of astronomy at CMNS, Michael A'Hearn (b. 1940), known for his contribution to cometary science, especially for his wide-range spectroscopic and spectrophotometric observations. He participated in the space-based EPOXI and IUE mission, which, in 1983, detected for the first time the presence of cometary diatomic sulfur while observing Comet IRAS–Araki–Alcock's spectrum.[2][7] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 22 June 1986 (M.P.C. 10848).[8]
