| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 20 September 1982 |
| Designations | |
| (3043) San Diego | |
Named after | San Diego(city)[2] |
| 1982 SA · 1974 SQ2 | |
| main-belt[1] · Hungaria[3][4][5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 41.90 yr (15,305 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.1323AU |
| Perihelion | 1.7210 AU |
| 1.9266 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1067 |
| 2.67yr (977 days) | |
| 7.5114° | |
| 0° 22m 6.96s / day | |
| Inclination | 21.788° |
| 351.11° | |
| 31.747° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.62 km(calculated)[4] 4.771±0.022 km[6] 5.040±0.082 km[7] |
| 30.72±0.02h(wrong)[8] 105.7±0.1 h(re-examined)[9] | |
| 0.252±0.048[7] 0.2817±0.0408[6] 0.30(assumed)[4] | |
| E[4] | |
| 13.6[1][6] · 13.7[4] | |
3043 San Diego, provisional designation1982 SA, is a stony Hungariaasteroid andslow rotator from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4.7 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered by American astronomerEleanor Helin on 30 September 1982, at the U.S.Palomar Observatory in California, and named for the city ofSan Diego.[2][3]
The brightE-type asteroid is a member of theHungaria family, which form theinnermost dense concentration of asteroids in theSolar System. The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.7–2.1 AU once every 2 years and 8 months (977 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.11 and aninclination of 22° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The first observation was taken atCrimea–Nauchnij in 1974, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 8 years prior to its discovery.[3]
San Diego is aslow rotator. In March 2005, a rotationallightcurve was obtained fromphotometric observations by American astronomerBrian Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory (716) in Colorado. It gave a longrotation period of105.7 hours with a brightness variation of 0.60 inmagnitude (U=3-). The period was derived from a re-examined lightcurve that originally gave a much shorter period of30.72±0.02 hours with an amplitude of 0.37 in magnitude (U=0).[8] This previously published period was only preliminary and is now considered wrong upon re-examination.[4]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, San Diego measures 4.8 and 5.0 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.25 and 0.28, respectively,[6][7] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.30 – a compromise value between 0.4 and 0.2, corresponding to the Hungaria asteroids both as family and orbital group – and calculates a diameter of 4.6 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.7.[4]
Thisminor planet was named for the city ofSan Diego, California, in appreciation of the city council's efforts to reduce the local light pollution(seedark-sky movement). Palomar mountain is located withinSan Diego County, California, and the astronomers at the site were concerned that thelight pollution from the city would ruin their ability to use the observatory. The council had voted to use Low-Pressure Sodium (LPS) vapor lamps for their street lights. This fixture only emitted light at onewavelength, which astronomers could readily filter out.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 13 July 1984 (M.P.C. 8914).[10]
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