46610 Bésixdouze (French pronunciation: [be.sis.duːz]; provisional designation 1993 TQ1) is a bright background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 October 1993, by Japanese amateur astronomers Kin Endate and Kazuro Watanabe at the Kitami Observatory in eastern Hokkaidō, Japan.[5] The asteroid was named after "B-612", home of The Little Prince.[2]
| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Endate K. Watanabe |
| Discovery site | Kitami Obs. |
| Discovery date | 15 October 1993 |
| Designations | |
| (46610) Bésixdouze | |
| Pronunciation | French pronunciation: [be.sis.duːz] |
Named after | Asteroid B-612 [2] (home of The Little Prince) |
| 1993 TQ1 · 1986 RU7 2000 VV32 | |
| main-belt [1] · {(inner) background [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 31.55 yr (11,525 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6816 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8581 AU |
| 2.2698 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1814 |
| 3.42 yr (1,249 days) | |
| 52.86° | |
| 0° 17m 17.52s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.4053° |
| 172.13° | |
| 211.83° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 2.064±0.499km[4] |
| 0.262±0.054[4] | |
| 15.4[1] | |
Bésixdouze is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population.[3] It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,249 days; semi-major axis of 2.27 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.18 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified as 1986 RU7atCrimea–Nauchnij in a single image taken in September 1986.[1][5]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Bésixdouze measures 2.064 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.262,[4] which is indicative for a stony composition.
As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Bésixdouze has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, poles and shape remain unknown.[1][6]
The name was suggested by F. Hemery and Jiří Grygar as a reference to the French novella The Little Prince. The title character lived on an asteroid named B-612, which is the number 46610 written in hexadecimal notation. Bésixdouze (French pronunciation: [be.sis.duːz]; "B-six-twelve") is one way to pronounce B-612 in French.[2] Like the asteroid in The Little Prince, Bésixdouze was first observed in a single night, several years before its official discovery.[5]
The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 November 2002 (M.P.C. 47170).[7] It says:
"The decimal number 46610 translates to the hexadecimal B612, the designation of the fictitious minor planet in de St. Exupéry's 1943 novel Le Petit Prince. B612 was allegedly spotted on a single night in 1909 and reported at a meeting in 1920. The name was suggested independently by F. Hémery and J. Grygar."[1]
