9641 Demazière
Asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
9641 Demazière, provisional designation 1994 PB30, is a stony asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Belgian astronomer Eric Elst at ESO's La Silla Observatory site in northern Chile on 12 August 1994.[6] The asteroid was named for Belgian scientist Martine De Mazière.[2]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. W. Elst |
| Discovery site | La Silla Obs. |
| Discovery date | 12 August 1994 |
| Designations | |
| (9641) Demazière | |
Named after | Martine De Mazière (Belgian scientist)[2] |
| 1994 PB30 · 1997 GY36 | |
| main-belt · (inner)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 25.44 yr (9,292 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7776 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1279 AU |
| 2.4527 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1324 |
| 3.84 yr (1,403 days) | |
| 40.595° | |
| 0° 15m 23.76s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.7578° |
| 222.02° | |
| 60.654° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 2.71 km (calculated)[3] |
| 9.9121±0.0527 h[4] | |
| 0.20 (assumed)[3] | |
| S[3] · V[5] | |
| 14.5[1] · 14.751±0.009 (R)[4] · 14.73±0.22[5] · 15.2[3] | |
Orbit and classification
Demazière orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,403 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.13 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] A first precovery was obtained by the Steward Observatory at Kitt Peak in 1991, extending the body's observation arc by 3 years prior to its official discovery observation at La Silla.[6]
Physical characteristics
Demazière has been characterized as a V-type asteroid by Pan-STARRS photometric survey.[5]
Lightcurves
In November 2010, a rotational lightcurve of Demazière was obtained from photometric observations taken at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. It gave a rotation period of 9.9121 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.9 magnitude (U=2).[4]
Diameter and albedo
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 2.7 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 15.2.[3]
Naming
This minor planet was named in honor of Belgian scientist Martine De Mazière (born 1960), director-general at the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy as of 2016.[7] Working with the optical scanning of Earth's atmosphere, her research focuses on the effect of aerosols in the atmosphere's composition. Mazière has also assessed the post-Pinatubo NO2 reduction and recovery, using spectroscopic observations in the UV and visible made at the Swiss Sphinx Observatory (Jungfraujoch) over a period of 10 years.[2]
The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 4 May 1999 (M.P.C. 34630).[8]
