| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | L. Boyer |
| Discovery site | Algiers Obs. |
| Discovery date | 20 March 1952 |
| Designations | |
| (1617) Alschmitt | |
Named after | Alfred Schmitt(astronomer)[2] |
| 1952 FB · 1929 CC1 1935 ER · 1941 HH 1947 LS · 1952 DK2 1975 AJ · A906 DC | |
| main-belt · (outer)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 111.18 yr (40,607 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.6085AU |
| Perihelion | 2.7913 AU |
| 3.1999 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1277 |
| 5.72yr (2,091 days) | |
| 167.85° | |
| 0° 10m 19.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 13.265° |
| 154.96° | |
| 24.216° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 21.12±2.86 km[4] 21.283±0.267 km[5][6] 36.78 km(calculated)[3] |
| 7.0602±0.0033 h[7] 7.0613±0.0007h[8] 7.062±0.002 h[8] | |
| 0.057(assumed)[3] 0.190±0.046[4] 0.270±0.020[5][6] | |
| C[3] | |
| 10.4[5] · 10.80[4] · 10.807±0.002(R)[7] · 10.9[1][3] | |
1617 Alschmitt, provisional designation1952 FB, is an assumed carbonaceousasteroid from in the outer parts of themain belt, approximately 30 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 March 1952, by French astronomerLouis Boyer atAlgiers Observatory in Algeria, Northern Africa, and named after French astronomerAlfred Schmitt.[2][9]
This asteroid orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,091 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.13 and aninclination of 13° with respect to theecliptic.[1]Alschmitt was first identified asA906 DC atHeidelberg in 1906, extending the body'sobservation arc by 46 years prior to its official discovery observation.[9]
Alschmitt is a presumed carbonaceousC-type asteroid.[3]
Two rotationallightcurve ofAlschmitt obtained in 2003 and 2004, byRené Roy andLaurent Bernasconi, gave a well-definedrotation period of 7.0613 and 7.062 hours with a brightness variation of 0.39 and 0.52 inmagnitude, respectively (U=3/3).[7] In October 2010, thePalomar Transient Factory derived a period of 7.0602 hours with an amplitude 0.49 magnitude (U=2).[7]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Alschmitt measures 21.12 and 21.28 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo of 0.190 and 0.270, respectively.[4][5][6] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 36.78 kilometers using anabsolute magnitude of 10.9.[3]
Boyer named thisminor planet for his colleagueAlfred Schmitt (1907–1973), astronomer at Algiers, Strasbourg and Quito observatories, who, 20 years earlier, had named the asteroid1215 Boyer in his honor.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 August 1978 (M.P.C. 4418).[10]
