7742 Altamira
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| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. Mrkos |
| Discovery site | Kleť Obs. |
| Discovery date | 20 October 1985 |
| Designations | |
| (7742) Altamira | |
Named after | Cave of Altamira (World Heritage Site)[2] |
| 1985 US · 1996 BP2 | |
| main-belt · (middle) Henan[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 31.07 yr (11,349 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9419 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.4989 AU |
| 2.7204 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0814 |
| 4.49 yr (1,639 days) | |
| 8.9755° | |
| 0° 13m 10.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.1454° |
| 124.91° | |
| 293.48° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.477±0.174 km[4][5] 8.74 km (calculated)[6] |
| 2.700±0.010 h[7] | |
| 0.057 (assumed)[6] 0.184±0.038[4][5] | |
| L[8] · C (assumed)[6] | |
| 13.6[1] · 13.570±0.090 (R)[7] · 13.64±0.22[8] · 13.4[4] · 14.02[6] | |
7742 Altamira, provisional designation 1985 US, is a Henan asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Czech astronomer Antonín Mrkos at the South Bohemian Kleť Observatory in the Czech Republic, on 20 October 1985.[9] It was named for the Cave of Altamira in Spain.[2]
Altamira is a member of the Henan family (532),[3] a large asteroid family in the intermediate main-belt, named after 2085 Henan.[10]: 23 It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.5–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 6 months (1,639 days; semi-major axis of 2.72 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The body's observation arc begins at Palomar Observatory in May 1988, two and a half years after its official discovery observation at Klet.[9]
Physical characteristics
Spectral type
Altamira has been characterized as an L-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey,[8] which agrees with the overall spectral type for members of the Henan family.[10]: 23
Rotation period
In January 2014, a rotational lightcurve of Altamira was obtained from photometric observation by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a short rotation period of 2.7 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.11 magnitude (U=2).[7]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Altamira measures 6.5 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo of 0.184.[4][5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and consequently calculates a larger diameter of 8.7 kilometers.[6]
