| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. R. Klemola |
| Discovery site | Lick Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 September 1975 |
| Designations | |
| (2131) Mayall | |
Named after | Nicholas Mayall[2] |
| 1975 RA | |
| main-belt · (inner) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 41.05 yr (14,994 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.0970AU |
| Perihelion | 1.6775 AU |
| 1.8873 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1111 |
| 2.59yr (947 days) | |
| 78.045° | |
| 0° 22m 48.36s / day | |
| Inclination | 33.987° |
| 306.05° | |
| 38.552° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.8 km(IRAS:3)[3] 8.252±0.040[4] |
| 2.5678h[5] | |
| 0.2391±0.031(IRAS:3)[3] 0.244±0.019[4] | |
| S(Tholen)[1] S(SMASS)[1] S[5] B–V = 0.871[1] U–B = 0.450[1] | |
| 12.72[1] | |
2131 Mayall (1975 RA) is aninner main-beltasteroid discovered on September 3, 1975, byArnold Klemola at theLick Observatory and named in honor ofNicholas U. Mayall (1906–1993), director of theKitt Peak National Observatory during 1960–1971, who also worked at Lick for many years.[1][2] It is about 8 km (~5 miles) in diameter.[6]
Photometric measurements of the asteroid made in 2005 at thePalmer Divide Observatory showed alight curve with a period of 2.572 ± 0.002 hours and a brightness variation of 0.08 ± 0.02 in magnitude.[7]
This led to a follow-up investigation in 2006, when another light curve was recorded.[6] These observations did not indicate a binary asteroid type, but did add to the data set available for this asteroid; this asteroid is part of theHungaria group.[6]
