3169 Ostro
Hungaria family asteroid
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3169 Ostro, provisional designation 1981 LA, is a Hungaria family asteroid from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter.
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Ostro imaged by the 0.7-m telescope at Heidelberg Observatory | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 4 June 1981 |
| Designations | |
| (3169) Ostro | |
Named after | Steven J. Ostro (planetary scientist)[2] |
| 1981 LA | |
| main-belt · (inner)[1] · Hungaria[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.43 yr (23,166 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.0184 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.7652 AU |
| 1.8918 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0669 |
| 2.60 yr (950 days) | |
| 120.41° | |
| 0° 22m 43.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 24.906° |
| 96.376° | |
| 32.622° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.662±0.118[5] 5.27 km (derived)[4] |
| 6.503±0.003[6] | |
| 0.5152 (derived)[4] 0.960±0.023[5] | |
| TS (Tholen)[1] Xe (SMASS)[1] B–V = 0.771[1] U–B = 0.306[1] | |
| 12.73[1][4] | |
The asteroid was discovered on 4 June 1981, by American astronomer Edward Bowell at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona,[3] and named after planetary scientist Steven J. Ostro at JPL.[2]
Orbit and classification
Ostro is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–2.0 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (950 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.07 and an inclination of 25° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
Physical characteristics
In the Tholen and SMASS taxonomy, Ostro is classified as a TS-type and Xe-type asteroid, respectively.[1] It has also been characterized as an E-type asteroid.[4]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Ostro measures 4.662 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an outstandingly high albedo of 0.960.[5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.5152 and a diameter of 5.27 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 12.73.[4]
In May 2012, a rotational lightcurve of Ostro was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian Warner. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 6.503 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.79 magnitude (U=3).[6]
Naming
This minor planet was named after American planetary scientist Steven J. Ostro at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 14 April 1987 (M.P.C. 11749).[7]
