| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 23 October 1952 |
| Designations | |
| (2024) McLaughlin | |
Named after | Dean B. McLaughlin (American astronomer)[2] |
| 1952 UR · 1938 WP 1982 BX4 | |
| main-belt · Vesta[citation needed] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 78.35 yr (28,619 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6479AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0019 AU |
| 2.3249 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1389 |
| 3.54yr (1,295 days) | |
| 126.79° | |
| 0° 16m 40.8s / day | |
| Inclination | 7.3117° |
| 69.231° | |
| 291.34° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.915±0.079[3] |
| 0.173±0.020[3] | |
| 12.9[1] | |
2024 McLaughlin, provisional designation1952 UR, is anasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometer in diameter. It was discovered 23 October 1952, by theIndiana Asteroid Program atGoethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, and named after American astronomerDean Benjamin McLaughlin.[2][4]
McLaughlin orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,295 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.14 and aninclination of 7° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified as1938 WP at the FinnishTurku Observatory in 1938, extending the body'sobservation arc by 14 years prior to its official discovery observation.[4]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 7.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.173.[3]
As of 2017,McLaughlin's composition,rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1][5]
Thisminor planet was named in memory of American astronomer and geologistDean Benjamin McLaughlin (1901–1965).[2]
McLaughlin was an astronomical spectroscopist at Swarthmore College and theUniversity of Michigan, and was the first to thoroughly measurestellar rotation, most notably the rotation ofAlgol. As a geologist he was one of the first to interpret the telescopically observable markings on Mars, which were later confirmed by direct observations from spacecraft(also seeAlbedo features). Thelunar andMartian craterMcLaughlin are also named in his honour.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 6 June 1982 (M.P.C. 6955).[6]
