| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. W. Elst |
| Discovery site | Haute-Provence Obs. |
| Discovery date | 8 September 1991 |
| Designations | |
| (13070) Seanconnery | |
Named after | Sean Connery (Scottish actor)[2] |
| 1991 RO2 · 1127 T-1 | |
| main-belt · (inner)[3] background | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 46.20 yr (16,873 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.1052AU |
| Perihelion | 1.7521 AU |
| 2.4287 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2786 |
| 3.78yr (1,382 days) | |
| 324.53° | |
| 0° 15m 37.44s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.6226° |
| 205.71° | |
| 131.76° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 1.764±0.130 km[4][5] 3.57 km(calculated)[3] | |
| 7.085±0.001 h[6] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[3] 0.900±0.095[4][5] | |
| S(assumed)[3] | |
| 14.5[4] · 14.6[3] · 14.7[1] · 15.12±0.20[7] | |
13070 Seanconnery, provisional designation1991 RO2, is a backgroundasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 8 September 1991, by Belgian astronomerEric Elst atHaute-Provence Observatory, St. Michael, in southeast France.[8] The asteroid was named after actorSean Connery.[2]
Seanconnery is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population. It orbits the Sun in theinner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.8–3.1 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,382 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.28 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The asteroid'sobservation arc begins 20 years prior to its official discovery observation, with its identification1127 T-1 made during the firstPalomar–Leiden Trojan survey in 1971.[8]
In August 2006, a rotationallightcurve ofSeanconnery was obtained from photometric observations made at the Hunters Hill Observatory (E14) in Ngunnawal, Australia. The lightcurve gave a well-definedrotation period of7.085 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.18 inmagnitude (U=3-).[6]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA's space-basedWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Seanconnery has an outstandingly high albedo of 0.90 and a diameter of 1.8 kilometers.[4][5] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo forstony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter 3.6 kilometers, as the lower the albedo (reflectivity), the larger an asteroid's diameter for a certainabsolute magnitude (brightness).[3]
Thisminor planet was named for celebrated Scottish actor and Academy Award winnerSean Connery (1930–2020), famous for portraying the characterJames Bond – after which the minor planet9007 James Bond is named, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. With this minor planet, he is especially honored by the discoverer for his performance as the Franciscan friarWilliam of Baskerville inThe Name of the Rose.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 9 March 2001(M.P.C. 42362).[9]
