1956 Artek
Main-belt asteroid
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1956 Artek, provisional designation 1969 TX1, is a dark Themistian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 19 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 8 October 1969, by Soviet–Russian astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj.[8] It was named after Artek, a Soviet Young Pioneer camp.[2]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Chernykh |
| Discovery site | Crimean Astrophysical Obs. |
| Discovery date | 8 October 1969 |
| Designations | |
| (1956) Artek | |
Named after | Artek (Арте́к) (Young Pioneer camp)[2] |
| 1969 TX1 · 1975 TA6 | |
| main-belt · Themis[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.16 yr (23,069 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.5304 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.8760 AU |
| 3.2032 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1022 |
| 5.73 yr (2,094 days) | |
| 11.877° | |
| 0° 10m 18.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.4928° |
| 153.36° | |
| 346.60° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 17.97±0.91 km[4] 18.71 km (calculated)[3] 19.92±3.55 km[5] |
| 9.4±0.2 h[1][6] | |
| 0.074±0.033[5] 0.08 (assumed)[3] 0.099±0.011[4] | |
| C[3] | |
| 11.90[4] · 11.95[5] · 12.08±0.41[7] · 12.1[1][3] | |
Orbit and classification
Artek is a dark C-type asteroid and a member of the Themis family, a dynamical family of outer-belt asteroids with nearly coplanar ecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.9–3.5 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,094 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 1° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at Goethe Link Observatory in 1954, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 15 years prior to its discovery.[8]
Physical characteristics
A rotational lightcurve was obtained from photometric observations made by Italian astronomers Roberto Crippa and Federico Manzini in February 2006. The fragmentary lightcurve gave a rotation period of 9.4±0.2 hours with a low brightness variation of 0.07 magnitude (U=1+).[6]
According to the space-based surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 18.0 and 19.2 kilometers in diameter with a corresponding albedo of 0.099 of 0.074, respectively.[4][5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 18.7 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 12.1.[3]
Naming
This minor planet was named after the Soviet Artek (Арте́к) camp, the first All-Union Young Pioneer camp on the Crimean peninsula.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 June 1977 (M.P.C. 4190).[9]
