1637 Swings
Main-belt asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1637 Swings, provisional designation 1936 QO, is a dark asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 50 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by Joseph Hunaerts in 1936, it was named after Belgian astronomer Pol Swings.
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Shape model of Swings from its lightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | J. Hunaerts |
| Discovery site | Uccle Obs. |
| Discovery date | 28 August 1936 |
| Designations | |
| (1637) Swings | |
Named after | Pol Swings (astrophysicist)[2] |
| 1936 QO · 1907 YT 1934 FL · 1934 FP 1936 SD · 1939 FU 1950 GA | |
| main-belt · (outer) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 109.78 yr (40,096 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2088 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.9356 AU |
| 3.0722 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0445 |
| 5.38 yr (1,967 days) | |
| 123.47° | |
| 0° 10m 58.8s / day | |
| Inclination | 14.068° |
| 21.288° | |
| 236.17° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 45.15 km (IRAS)[3] 52.994±0.428 km[4] |
| 0.042±0.004[4] | |
| 10.4[1] | |
Discovery
Swings was discovered on 28 August 1936, by Belgian astronomer Joseph Hunaerts at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, Belgium.[5] In the following month, it was independently discovered by astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg Observatory in South Africa.[2]
Orbit and classification
The asteroid orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.9â3.2 AU once every 5 years and 5 months (1,967 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.04 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] In 1907, Swings was first identified as 1907 YT at Heidelberg Observatory. However, the body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Uccle in 1936.[5]
Physical characteristics
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Swings' surface has an albedo of 0.042, and measures 45.15 and 52.99 kilometers in diameter, respectively.[3][4] It has an absolute magnitude of 10.4.[1]
As of 2017, the body's spectral type, rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1]
Naming
This minor planet was named after Pol Swings (1906â1983), a Belgian astrophysicist, astronomer and president of the International Astronomical Union during 1964â1967, who significantly contributed to the understanding of the physics of comets and their spectra.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 (M.P.C. 3932).[6]
