| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 14 December 1979 |
| Designations | |
| (2246) Bowell | |
Named after | Edward Bowell (American astronomer)[2] |
| 1979 XH · 1942 GP 1973 FH2 · 1973 FR 1976 SL6 · 1977 SM3 | |
| main-belt · Hilda[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 62.06 yr (22,666 days) |
| Aphelion | 4.3289AU |
| Perihelion | 3.5863 AU |
| 3.9576 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0938 |
| 7.87yr (2,876 days) | |
| 244.37° | |
| 0° 7m 30.72s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.4941° |
| 155.66° | |
| 21.544° | |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.6437 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 40.73±1.70 km[5] 44.21±3.2 km(IRAS:6)[6] 48.424±0.429[7] |
| 4.992h[8] | |
| 0.045±0.012[7] 0.0540±0.009(IRAS:6)[6] 0.066±0.006[5] | |
| D(Tholen andSMASS)[1] D[3] B–V = 0.746[1] U–B = 0.239[1] | |
| 10.56[1][3][5][6] · 10.65±0.20[9] | |
2246 Bowell, provisional designation1979 XH, is a rare-type Hildianasteroid from the outermost region of theasteroid belt, approximately 44 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 14 December 1979, by American astronomerEdward Bowell at Lowell Observatory'sAnderson Mesa Station, and named after the discoverer himself.[2][4]
Bowell is a member of theHilda family, theoutermost orbital group of asteroids in the main-belt, that are in a 3:2orbital resonance withJupiter.[4]
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 3.6–4.3 AU once every 7 years and 10 months (2,876 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.09 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The first usedprecovery was taken atPalomar Observatory in 1955, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 24 years prior to its discovery.[4]
Bowell has a reddishD-type spectrum on both theSMASS andTholen taxonomic scheme, and is one of only 46 known bodies with such aspectral type.[10]
A rotationallightcurve ofBowell was obtained during a photometricsurvey of Hildian asteroids at theUppsala Astronomical Observatory and others places in the late 1990s. The lightcurve gave a well-definedrotation period of4.992 hours with a brightness variation of 0.46 inmagnitude (U=3).[8]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite, the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS (six observations), and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Bowell measures 40.7, 44.2 and 48.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.066, 0.054 and 0.045, respectively.[5][6][7] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with the results obtained by IRAS.[3]
Thisminor planet was named in honor of its discoverer, the American astronomerEdward L. G. Bowell (born 1943), based on a proposal byMPC's longtime directorBrian G. Marsden. Astronomer at theLowell Observatory and a prolificdiscoverer of minor planets himself, Bowell has made significant contributions on the observatory'sUBV photometry andastrometry programs for minor planets, including the prediction ofoccultation events.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 January 1981 (M.P.C. 5688).[11]
