| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin S. J. Bus |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 7 November 1978 |
| Designations | |
| (2440) Educatio | |
| Pronunciation | /ɛdjuːˈkeɪʃioʊ/ |
Named after | Education (ēducātio)[2] |
| 1978 VQ4 · 1928 QH 1954 JK · 1968 US1 1977 JG | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (inner) Flora[4][5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 89.43yr (32,665 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.5763AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8554 AU |
| 2.2158 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1627 |
| 3.30 yr (1,205 d) | |
| 77.238° | |
| 0° 17m 55.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.1060° |
| 227.20° | |
| 77.865° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 6.586±0.128 km[6] | |
| 1561 h[5] | |
| 0.247±0.039[6] | |
| S (SMASS-II)[4] | |
| 13.1[1][3] | |
2440 Educatio/ɛdjuːˈkeɪʃioʊ/ is aFlorian asteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 6.6 kilometers (4.1 miles) in diameter. The possibly elongatedS-type asteroid has an exceptionally longrotation period of 1561 hours and is one of theslowest rotators known to exist.[5] It was discovered on 7 November 1978, by American astronomersEleanor Helin andSchelte Bus at thePalomar Observatory inCalifornia,[1] and later named "Educatio", the Latin word forEducation.[2]
Educatio member of theFlora family (402),[4] a giantasteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[7] It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,205 days;semi-major axis of 2.22 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.16 and aninclination of 4° with respect to theecliptic.[3]
The asteroid was first observed as1928 QH at theSimeiz Observatory in August 1928. The body'sobservation arc begins with its observation as1954 JK at theGoethe Link Observatory in May 1954, more than 24 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.[1]
Thisminor planet was named "Educatio", the Latin word forEducation, one of the most important human endeavors, which is foremost to the industrialization of space.[1] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 28 January 1983 (M.P.C. 7618).[8]
In theSMASS classification,Educatio is a stonyS-type asteroid,[5] which agrees with the overallspectral type for members of the Flora family.[7]: 23
A rotationallightcurve ofEducatio, obtained fromphotometric observations, gave arotation period of 1561 hours with a high brightness amplitude of 0.80magnitude (U=2), indicative of a non-spherical shape.[5] It belongs to the small group of slow rotators with aperiod above 1000 hours.
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Educatio measures 6.59 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.247,[6] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, theparent body of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 6.51 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 13.1.[5]
