2031 BAM
Asteroid
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2031 BAM, provisional designation 1969 TG2, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 8 October 1969, by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnyj, on the Crimean peninsula.[8] The asteroid was named for those who built the Baikal–Amur Mainline (BAM; БАМ), a Siberian railway line.[2]
Orbital diagram of BAM | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Chernykh |
| Discovery site | Crimean Astrophysical Obs. |
| Discovery date | 8 October 1969 |
| Designations | |
| (2031) BAM | |
Named after | Baikal–Amur Mainline[2] (Siberian railway line) |
| 1969 TG2 · 1939 VB 1959 TW · 1972 NQ | |
| main-belt · (inner) Flora[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 77.39 yr (28,268 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6203 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8477 AU |
| 2.2340 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1729 |
| 3.34 yr (1,220 days) | |
| 124.02° | |
| 0° 17m 42.72s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.7524° |
| 169.28° | |
| 213.58° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.14 km (calculated)[3] 8.14±0.36 km[5] |
| 10.774±0.004 h[6] | |
| 0.170±0.017[5] 0.24 (assumed)[3] | |
| S[3][7] | |
| 12.9[1][3] · 13.00[5] · 13.05±0.81[7] | |
Orbit and classification
BAM is a member of the Flora family (402),[3][4] a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main belt.[9]: 23 It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.8–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,220 days; semi-major axis of 2.23 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The body's observation arc begins with its identification as 1939 VB at Uccle Observatory in November 1939, almost 30 years prior to its official discovery observation at Nauchnyj.[8]
Physical characteristics
BAM has been characterized as a stony S-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey.[7]
Rotation period
In October 2016, a rotational lightcurve of BAM was obtained from photometric observations by amateur astronomer Matthieu Conjat. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 10.774 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.15 magnitude (U=3).[6]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, BAM measures 8.14 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.170.[5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the parent body of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 7.14 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.9.[3]
Naming
This minor planet was named after those who constructed the Baikal–Amur Mainline (BAM; БАМ) through eastern Russia from 1974 to 1986. The rail line opened in 1989, and runs between Ust-Kut (near Lake Baikal and Komsomolsk-on-Amur.[2][10] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 September 1978 (M.P.C. 4482).[11]