8549 Alcide
Main-belt asteroid
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8549 Alcide, provisional designation 1994 FS, is a stony Nysa asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 March 1994, by a group of amateur astronomers at the Farra d'Isonzo Observatory, Italy, near the border to Slovenia.[8] It was named for Alcide Bittesini, father of co-discoverer Luciano Bittesini.[2]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Farra d'Isonzo Obs. (inc. Luciano Bittesini) |
| Discovery site | Farra d'Isonzo Obs. |
| Discovery date | 30 March 1994 |
| Designations | |
| (8549) Alcide | |
Named after | Alcide Bittesini (father of co-discoverer)[2] |
| 1994 FS | |
| main-belt · Nysa[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 23.31 yr (8,514 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.8912 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9828 AU |
| 2.4370 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1864 |
| 3.80 yr (1,390 days) | |
| 318.71° | |
| 0° 15m 32.76s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.8790° |
| 205.61° | |
| 64.719° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.19 km (calculated)[3] 4.341±0.076 km[4][5] |
| 3 h[6] | |
| 0.196±0.012[4][5] 0.21 (assumed)[3] | |
| S[3] | |
| 14.2[1][3][4] · 14.3±0.4 (R)[6] · 14.73±0.25[7] | |
Orbit and classification
Alcide is a member of the stony subgroup of the Nysa family, one of the smaller families in the main-belt, named after its namesake, 44 Nysa. The body orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.9 astronomical units (AU) once every 3 years and 10 months (1,390 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.19 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] Precoveries were taken at Palomar and Steward Observatory (Kitt Peak) just weeks and days prior to the asteroid's official discovery observation at Farra d'Isonzo.[8]
Physical characteristics
Lightcurves
A rotational lightcurve of Alcide was obtained from photometric observations made by astronomer David Polishook at the ground-based Wise Observatory, Israel, in November 2007. The lightcurve gave a rotation period of 3 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.2 magnitude (U=2-).[6]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Alcide measures 4.3 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.195,[4][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.21 and calculates a diameter of 4.2 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.2.[3]
Naming
This minor planet was named for Italian high-school teacher of natural sciences, Alcide Bittesini (1913–1981). He was the father of amateur astronomer Luciano Bittesini, who co-discovered the asteroid with his amateur colleagues at the Farra d'Isonzo Observatory in Italy.[2]
At the age of 9, his father fostered his interest in astronomy, when they observed a comet with a homespun telescope made of a pair of glasses, a tin can and a microscope eyepiece.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 February 1999 (M.P.C. 33791).[9]
