6257 Thorvaldsen
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_Thorvaldsen.png) Thorvaldsen modeled from its lightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. T. Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 26 March 1971 |
| Designations | |
| (6257) Thorvaldsen | |
Named after | Bertel Thorvaldsen[1] (Danish sculptor) |
| 4098 T-1 · 1969 TH2 1978 ES5 · 1989 GB7 | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (inner) Vesta[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 48.54 yr (17,731 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.5505 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1326 AU |
| 2.3416 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0893 |
| 3.58 yr (1,309 d) | |
| 167.51° | |
| 0° 16m 30.36s / day | |
| Inclination | 7.9145° |
| 30.505° | |
| 22.518° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 4.278±0.143 km[4] | |
| 0.384±0.042[4] | |
| 13.7[1][2] | |
6257 Thorvaldsen, provisional designation 4098 T-1, is a bright Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey on 26 March 1971, by Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in California. The asteroid was named for Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.[1]
Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey
When applying the hierarchical clustering method to its proper orbital elements, Thorvaldsen is a member of the Vesta family.[3] It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 2.1–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,309 days; semi-major axis of 2.34 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] The asteroid was first observed as 1969 TH2 at Crimea–Nauchnij in October 1969. The body's observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar in 1971.[1]
The survey designation "T-1" stands for the first Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey, named after the fruitful collaboration of the Palomar and Leiden Observatory in the 1960s and 1970s. Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory where astrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery of several thousand asteroid discoveries.[5]
Naming
This minor planet was named after Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1768–1844). The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 5 March 1996 (M.P.C. 26765).[6]
