| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 11 June 1980 |
| Designations | |
| (2531) Cambridge | |
Named after | Cambridge (UK) andCambridge, MA (USA)[2] |
| 1980 LD · 1931 AP 1942 EQ · 1952 BG 1963 FK · 1963 HD 1971 VY · 1974 KH A916 FE | |
| main-belt · (outer) Eos[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 86.40 yr (31,557 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.1787AU |
| Perihelion | 2.8383 AU |
| 3.0085 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0566 |
| 5.22yr (1,906 days) | |
| 199.25° | |
| 0° 11m 20.04s / day | |
| Inclination | 11.032° |
| 104.36° | |
| 32.390° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 19.15±1.9 km[5] 19.15 km(derived)[3] 22.349±0.196 km[6] 22.911±0.130 km[7] 23.44±0.95 km[8] | |
| 8.80±0.01h[9] 12.200±0.0032 h[10] | |
| 0.147±0.014[8] 0.1491±0.0193[7] 0.166±0.026[6] 0.2102(derived)[3] 0.2104±0.050[5] | |
| S(assumed)[3] | |
| 10.712±0.001(R)[1][3][5][7][8][10] | |
2531 Cambridge, provisional designation1980 LD, is a stony Eoanasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 20 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 11 June 1980, by American astronomerEdward Bowell at Lowell'sAnderson Mesa Station in Arizona, United States. The asteroid was named for the "centers of learning in England and in Massachusetts".[2]
Cambridge is a member of theEos family (606),[3][4] the largestasteroid family in theouter main belt consisting of nearly 10,000 known asteroids.[11]: 23 It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.8–3.2 AU once every 5 years and 3 months (1,906 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.06 and aninclination of 11° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
It was first identified asA916 FESimeiz Observatory in 1916. The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken atLowell Observatory in 1931, or 49 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.[2]
Cambridge is an assumed stonyS-type asteroid,[3] in line with the overallspectral type for members of the Eos family.[11]: 23
In February 2004, a rotationallightcurve ofCambridge was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomerRené Roy. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 8.80 hours with a brightness variation of 0.21magnitude (U=2-).[9] In October 2010, observations at thePalomar Transient Factory, California, gave a longer period of 12.200 hours with an amplitude of 0.20 magnitude (U=2).[10]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Cambridge measures between 19.15 and 23.44 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.147 and 0.2104.[5][6][7][8]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.2102 and a diameter of 19.15 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 10.9, identical with the results obtained by IRAS.[3][5]
Thisminor planet was named after theUniversity of Cambridge in England and the universities in the city ofCambridge, Massachusetts (United States), where theMinor Planet Center (MPC) is located at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the MPC on 8 April 1982 (M.P.C. 6834).[12]
