| Discovery[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | March 21, 1993 |
| Designations | |
| (26858) Misterrogers | |
| Pronunciation | /ˌmɪstərˈrɒdʒərz/ |
Named after | Fred Rogers[1] (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood) |
| 1993 FR · 1952 SU 2000 EK107 | |
| Mars crosser[1][3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch April 27, 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 65.65yr (23,980 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.1490AU |
| Perihelion | 1.5384 AU |
| 2.3437 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3436 |
| 3.59 yr (1,311 d) | |
| 164.80° | |
| 0° 16m 28.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 21.874° |
| 203.76° | |
| 247.63° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.6692 AU (261LD) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 6.33±1.08 km[5][6] 8.07±0.17 km[7] 8.19±1.64 km[8] | |
| 8.066±0.007 h[4][a] | |
| 0.200[8] 0.208[7] 0.28[5][6] | |
| S(assumed)[4] | |
| 12.80[5][6][7][8] 12.9[3][4] | |
26858 Misterrogers (/ˌmɪstərˈrɒdʒərz/), provisional designation1993 FR, is a stonyasteroid and sizableMars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from theasteroid belt, approximately 5.1 miles (8.2 kilometers) in diameter. It was discovered on March 21, 1993, by American astronomerEleanor Helin at thePalomar Observatory in California.[1] The likelyS-type asteroid has arotation period of 8.0 hours.[4] It was named after children's television hostFred Rogers.[1]
Misterrogers is a member of theMars-crossing asteroids, a dynamically unstablegroup between themain belt and thenear-Earth populations, crossing the orbit ofMars at 1.66 AU.[1] It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.5–3.1 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,311 days;semi-major axis of 2.34 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.34 and aninclination of 22° with respect to theecliptic.[3]
The asteroid was first observed as1952 SU at theGoethe Link Observatory in September 1952. The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery published by theDigitized Sky Survey, taken at Palomar in May 1990, almost 3 years prior to its official discovery observation.[1]
Thisminor planet was named after Fred McFeely Rogers (1928–2003), who was the host of thechildren's television programMister Rogers' Neighborhood for more than 30 years.[1] The naming was proposed, and citation prepared, byDr. John G. Radzilowicz, Director of the Henry Buhl, Jr. Planetarium & Observatory at theKamin Science Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[9] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on May 1, 2003 (M.P.C. 48396).[10]
Rogers had a lifelong fascination with the sky andastronomy, obtained a pilot's license while still in high school[11] and also produced with the Kamin Science Center aplanetarium show calledThe Sky above Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,[12] which is still shown at many planetaria across the United States.[13]
Misterrogers is an assumed, stonyS-type asteroid. In line with the body's determinedalbedo(see below).[4]
In April 2011, a rotationallightcurve ofMisterrogers was obtained fromphotometric observations byBrian A. Skiff atAnderson Mesa Station. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of8.066±0.007 hours with a brightness variation of 0.13magnitude (U=3).[a] A low brightness amplitude is indicative for a spherical rather than elongated shape.
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE),Misterrogers measures 6.33 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.28.[5][6] However, a WISE-study dedicated to Mars-crossing asteroids in 2017 determined a larger diameter of 8.19 kilometers with an albedo of 0.20.[8] The JapaneseAkari satellite found a diameter of 8.07 km and an albedo of 0.208,[7] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 7.82 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.9.[4]
With a diameter of 8.2 kilometers,Misterrogers is a sizable Mars-crosser of which two dozens or so are known (5–15 km). These include3581 Alvarez (13.7 km)1065 Amundsenia (9.8 km),1139 Atami (9.4 km),3737 Beckman (14.4 km),1474 Beira (15.5 km),5682 Beresford (7.3 km),7505 Furusho (10.0 km)7369 Gavrilin (5.5 km),1011 Laodamia (7.4 km),6170 Levasseur (5.7 km),1727 Mette (5.4 km),1131 Porzia (7.1 km),985 Rosina (8.2 km),1235 Schorria (5.6 km),1310 Villigera (15.2 km), and1468 Zomba (7 km), which are themselves smaller than the largest members of this dynamical group, namely,132 Aethra,323 Brucia (former Mars-crosser),1508 Kemi,2204 Lyyli and512 Taurinensis, all larger than 20 kilometers.
Allen taught Fred to fly in a little Piper Cub when Fred was in high school
