1722 Goffin
Main-belt asteroid
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1722 Goffin, provisional designation 1938 EG, is a stony asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 10.3 kilometers in diameter.
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Delporte |
| Discovery site | Uccle Obs. |
| Discovery date | 23 February 1938 |
| Designations | |
| (1722) Goffin | |
Named after | Edwin Goffin (amateur astronomer)[2] |
| 1938 EG · 1942 DJ 1950 HK · 1952 SW 1952 UQ · 1960 WB 1964 UF · 1964 VD1 | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 79.09 yr (28,889 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6369 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.3902 AU |
| 2.5135 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0491 |
| 3.99 yr (1,456 days) | |
| 42.038° | |
| 0° 14m 50.28s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.4668° |
| 168.12° | |
| 283.20° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 10.290±0.118[4] 10.44 km (taken)[3] 10.442 km[5] 10.446±0.130 km[6] |
| 28.8±1.0 h[a] 31 h[7] | |
| 0.2175[5] 0.2191±0.0165[6] 0.224±0.041[4] | |
| S(est.)[7] · S[3] BâV = 0.890[1] | |
| 12.18[3][5][6][a] · 12.30[1] · 12.34[7] | |
It was discovered on 23 February 1938, by Belgian astronomer Eugène Delporte at the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Uccle, Belgium.[8] It was later named after Belgian amateur astronomer Edwin Goffin, following a suggestion by Jean Meeus.[2]
Orbit and classification
Minor planet 1722 Goffin orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.4â2.6 AU once every 3 years and 12 months (1,456 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.05 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The body's observation arc begins 6 days after its official discovery observation.[8]
Physical characteristics
It is an assumed S-type asteroid, one of the most common spectral types.[3][7] American astronomer Sherry Fieber-Beyer at NASA Infrared Telescope Facility obtained VNIR spectra on July 20, 2011. The resulting spectrum analysis showed an S-IV assemblage with a derived L-chondrite mineralogy.[9]
Lightcurves
(1722)'s first rotational lightcurve was obtained by American astronomer Richard P. Binzel at UT Austin in October 1984. It gave a rotation period of 31 hours and an brightness variation of 0.63 magnitude (U=2),[7] while Czech astronomers Petr Pravec and Adrián Galád at OndÅejov Observatory derived a period of 28.8 hours with and amplitude of 0.6 magnitude using Binzel's photmetric observations (U=n.a.).[a]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Goffin measures 10.29 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.224 (using the 2014-published revised near-infrared albedo fits),[4] superseding a preliminary published diameter of 10.446 kilometers.[6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link takes Petr Pravec's 2012-revised WISE data, that gave an albedo of 0.2175 and a diameter of 10.442 kilometers.[3][5]
Naming
This minor planet was named in honor of the Belgian amateur astronomer Edwin Goffin (born 1950), who has made extensive computations involving minor-planet orbits, and whose initials are indicated by the body's provisional designation, 1938 EG.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 8 April 1982 (M.P.C. 6832).[10]
Notes
- Pravec (1984) web: rotation period 28.8±1.0 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.6 mag. Quality code is not available. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) for (1722) Goffin and Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounova, L. (1984)
