| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | N. Chernykh |
| Discovery site | Crimean Astrophysical Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 October 1975 |
| Designations | |
| (2420) Čiurlionis | |
Named after | Mikalojus Čiurlionis (painter and composer)[2] |
| 1975 TN · 1979 QF | |
| main-belt · Eunomia[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 41.42 yr (15,129 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9008AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2190 AU |
| 2.5599 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1332 |
| 4.10yr (1,496 days) | |
| 56.325° | |
| 0° 14m 26.16s / day | |
| Inclination | 14.611° |
| 205.64° | |
| 197.83° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 8.444±0.198 km[4][5] 10.06 km(calculated)[3] |
| 12.84h[6] 15.760±0.002 h[7] | |
| 0.21(assumed)[3] 0.327±0.086[4][5] | |
| S[3] | |
| 12.2[4] · 12.28±0.28[8] · 12.3[1][3] | |
2420 Čiurlionis, provisionally designated1975 TN, is a stony Eunomianasteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 3 October 1975, by Soviet astronomerNikolai Chernykh at theCrimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, on the Crimean peninsula, and later named after Lithuanian painter and composerMikalojus Čiurlionis.[2][9]
Čiurlionis is a member of theEunomia family, a large group ofS-type asteroids and the most prominent family in theintermediate main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.2–2.9 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,496 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.13 and aninclination of 15° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
Two rotationallightcurves ofČiurlionis were obtained from photometric observations. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 12.84 and 15.760 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.48 and 0.51magnitude, respectively (U=2/3-).[6][7]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Čiurlionis measures 8.444 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.327.[4][5] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.21 – derived from15 Eunomia, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 10.06 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.3.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after LithuanianArt Nouveau painter and composerMikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875–1911).[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 17 February 1984 (M.P.C. 8542).[10]
