| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Kowal |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 24 April 1977 |
| Designations | |
| (2063) Bacchus | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbækəs/BAK-əs |
Named after | Bacchus(Dionysus in Greek) (Roman god)[2] |
| 1977 HB | |
| NEO · Apollo[3][1] Venus-crosser | |
| Adjectives | Bacchian/ˈbækiən/[4] |
| Symbol | .svg) (astrological) |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 39.10 yr (14,282 days) |
| Aphelion | 1.4545AU |
| Perihelion | 0.7013 AU |
| 1.0779 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3494 |
| 0.9897yr (361.487925 days) | |
| 113.13° | |
| 0° 52m 50.52s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.5205167° |
| 33.103° | |
| 55.315° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.0677 AU · 26.4LD |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1.11 km × 0.53 km × 0.50 km[5] 2.6 km × 1.1 km × 1.1 km[3] |
| 0.63 km(Deff)[5] 1.03±0.03 km[6] 1.05 km(derived)[7] | |
| 14.544±0.007 h[8] 14.904 h[9] 15.0±0.2 h[5] | |
| 0.19±0.03[6] 0.20(assumed)[7] 0.33+0.25 −0.11(radar) 0.56+0.12 −0.18(visual)[5] | |
| SMASS = Sq[3] · S[7] | |
| 17.3[1][3] | |
2063 Bacchus, provisional designation1977 HB, is a stonyasteroid andnear-Earth object of theApollo group, approximately 1 kilometer in diameter. Thecontact binary was discovered on 24 April 1977, by American astronomerCharles Kowal at thePalomar Observatory in California, United States. It was named afterBacchus from Roman mythology.[2][1]
Bacchus orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.7–1.5 AU once every 1 years and 1 month (409 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.35 and aninclination of 9° with respect to theecliptic.[3] The asteroid'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar.[1] Due to its eccentric orbit, it is also aVenus-crosser.
Bacchus has anEarthminimum orbital intersection distance of 0.0677 AU (10,130,000 km), which corresponds to 26.4lunar distances.[3] On 31 March 1996, it passed 0.0677525 AU (10,135,600 km) from Earth.[3]
In theSMASS classification,Bacchus is a Sq-type, that transitions from the commonS-type asteroids to theQ-type asteroids.[3] It is acontact binary with bilobate shape.
In March 1996radar observations were conducted at theGoldstone Observatory under the direction ofJPL scientistsSteven Ostro and Lance Benner, allowing the construction of a model of the object.[5] Optical observations were conducted byPetr Pravec,Marek Wolf, andLenka Šarounová during March and April 1996. It was also photometrically observed by American astronomerBrian Warner in 2015.[8][9][10]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Bacchus measures 1.03 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.19.[6] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo forstony asteroids of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 1.05 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 17.25.[7]
Thisminor planet was named for theRoman godBacchus (Dionysus).The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 August 1978 (M.P.C. 4421).[2][11]
