1915 Quetzálcoatl

Near-Earth Alinda asteroid September 2020 yes 1915 Quetzálcoatl #FFC2E0 9 March 1953 A. G. Wilson Palomar Obs. (1915) Quetzálcoatl 1953 EA ˌ k ɛ t s æ l k oʊ ˈ ɑː t əlQuetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl(Mesoamerican deity) NEOAmorAlinda 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) 0 51.59 yr (18,842 days) 3.9958 AU 1.0928 AU 2.5443 AU 0.5705 4.06 yr (1,482 days) 12.497° 20.402° 162.95° 347.88° 0.1102 AU42.9 LD 0.40 km0.5 km 4.9 h 0.210.31 Tholen = SMUSMUB–V = 0.784U–B = 0.430 18.8818.88 0.1118.9018.97 1915 Quetzálcoatl, provisional designation 1953 EA, is a very eccentric, stony asteroid classified as near-Earth object, about half a kilometer in diameter. It was discovered on 9 March 1953, by American astronomer Albert George Wilson at Palomar Observatory, California. It was named for Quetzalcoatl from Aztec mythology. Orbit and classification Quetzálcoatl is an Amor asteroid – a subgroup of near-Earth asteroids that approach the orbit of Earth from beyond, but do not cross it – and a member of the Alinda family of highly eccentric asteroids. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.1–4.0 AU with a period of around 4 years. The osculating orbit as of 2017 has a period just over 4 years, but the period varies because Quetzálcoatl is near the 3:1 orbital resonance with Jupiter (and possibly because it is near the 1:4 resonance with Earth). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.57 and an inclination of 20° with respect to the ecliptic. When it was discovered in March 1953 it had a magnitude around 15, but in recent times its magnitude rarely dips below 20 because even when it is near perihelion it is far from Earth. After the 1953 close approach there were others every four years until March 1981, but the next one will not be until 77 years (19 orbits averaging 4,05 years) later, in February 2062, when its magnitude will be about 17. Its magnitude will get to around 16 (a bit less bright than in 1953) 52 years (13 orbits) later in 2114. Another close approach will occur 39 years (10 orbits) later in 2153 (average period 3.9 years). In the 285 years from 1953 to 2238 it makes 72 orbits, giving an average period of 3.96 years (quite close to a third of Jupiter's period, which comes to 3.95 years).NASA ephemeris calculator Its Earth Minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) is 0.1102 AU which translates into 42.9 lunar distances. On 24 February 2062, it will make a close approach and pass by Earth at a distance of 0.1339 AU km on off 3. Physical characteristics In the Tholen classification, Quetzálcoatl is classified as a rare SMU-subtype of the broader S-type asteroids. Its mean-diameter is between 0.4 and 0.5 kilometers. It has a rotation period of 4.9 hours and an albedo of 0.21–0.31. In 1981, this object was observed with radar from the Arecibo Observatory at a distance of 0.09 AU. The measured radar cross-section was 0.02 km2. Naming This minor planet is named after the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl, the Mesoamerican deity of wisdom and culture who brought learning to the Toltec people. The official 1915 naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 June 1975 (M.P.C. 3827). References 30em 2004-10-09 last obs. JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 1915 Quetzalcoatl (1953 EA) https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2001915 Jet Propulsion Laboratory 9 June 2017 Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (1915) Quetzálcoatl Schmadel Lutz D. Springer Berlin Heidelberg 154 2007 978-3-540-00238-3 10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_1916 (1915) Quetzálcoatl 1915 Quetzálcoatl (1953 EA) Minor Planet Center https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=1915 10 December 2016 Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition (2006–2008) Appendix – Publication Dates of the MPCs Schmadel Lutz D. 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg 221 978-3-642-01964-7 10.1007/978-3-642-01965-4 2009dmpn.book.....S 6 S. J. Ostro D. B. Campbell J. F. Chandler I. I. Shapiro A. A. Hine R. Velez R. F. Jurgens K. D. Rosema R. Winkler D. K. Yeomans October 1991 Asteroid radar astrometry http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=1991AJ....102.1490O Astronomical Journal 102 1490–1502 0004-6256 1991AJ....102.1490O 10.1086/115975 10 December 2016 1915 10 December 2016 Harris, Alan W. February 1998 A Thermal Model for Near-Earth Asteroids http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=1998Icar..131..291H Icarus 131 2 291–301 1998Icar..131..291H 10.1006/icar.1997.5865 10 December 2016 R. P. Binzel D. J. Tholen September 1983 The rotation, color, phase coefficient, and diameter of 1915 Quetzalcoatl http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=1983Icar...55..495B Icarus 55 3 495–497 0019-1035 1983Icar...55..495B 10.1016/0019-1035(83)90118-5 10 December 2016 A. W. Harris J. W. Young October 1989 Asteroid lightcurve observations from 1979-1981 http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=1989Icar...81..314H Icarus 81 2 314–364 0019-1035 1989Icar...81..314H 10.1016/0019-1035(89)90056-0 10 December 2016 Petr Pravec Alan W. Harris Peter Kusnirák Adrián Galád Kamil Hornoch September 2012 Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/bib_query?bibcode=2012Icar..221..365P Icarus 221 1 365–387 2012Icar..221..365P 10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.026 10 December 2016 External links Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info https://web.archive.org/web/20110721225144/http://www.minorplanet.info/lightcurvedatabase.html 21 July 2011 ) Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR https://web.archive.org/web/20160729213840/http://obswww.unige.ch/~behrend/page_cou.html 29 July 2016 – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend 1915 1915 Quetzalcoatl 1914 Hartbeespoortdam 1915 1916 Boreas 001915 001915 Category:Discoveries by Albert George Wilson Category:Named minor planets 001915 001915 19530309