| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 8 August 1980 |
| Designations | |
| (3350) Scobee | |
Named after | Dick Scobee (Challenger crew member)[2] |
| 1980 PJ · 1973 SG2 1976 JU10 | |
| main-belt[1][3] · Flora[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 64.53 yr (23,568 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7846AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8357 AU |
| 2.3102 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2054 |
| 3.51yr (1,283 days) | |
| 200.70° | |
| 0° 16m 50.52s / day | |
| Inclination | 3.4096° |
| 353.72° | |
| 330.81° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.11±0.59 km[5] 3.26 km(calculated)[4] 7.401±0.210 km[6][7] |
| 0.059±0.011[6][7] 0.22±0.08[5] 0.24(assumed)[4] | |
| S[4] | |
| 14.3[6] · 14.6[1][4] · 14.81[5] · 15.10±0.25[8] | |
3350 Scobee, provisional designation1980 PJ, is a stony Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 8 August 1980 by American astronomerEdward Bowell at Lowell'sAnderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona.[3] It was named forDick Scobee, commander of the ill-fatedChallenger crew.
Scobee is a member of theFlora family, one of the largest families ofstony asteroids. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,283 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.21 and aninclination of 3° with respect to theecliptic.[1] A firstprecovery was taken atPalomar Observatory in 1952, extending the body'sobservation arc by 28 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.[3]
According to preliminary results of the space-based survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, Scobee measured 7.401 kilometers in diameter and its surface had a dark, carbonaceousalbedo of 0.059.[6][7] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link, however, assumed an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of the family – and calculated a diameter of 3.26 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 14.6.[4] More recent NEOWISE-observations, taken during the second year since the spacecraft was reactivated in late 2013, are in agreement, giving a diameter of 3.11 kilometers and an albedo of 0.22.[5]
Photometric observations gave a respective brightness variation of 0.16 and 0.17magnitude, which indicates that the body has a rather spheroidal shape. As of 2017, however, no rotationallightcurve of Scobee has been obtained and itsrotation period remains unknown.[4][5][9]
Thisminor planet was named in memory of American astronaut and commander of the Challenger Space ShuttleDick Scobee (1939–1986), who died in theSpace Shuttle Challenger disaster on 28 January 1986.[2] The sequentially numbered minor planets3351 Smith,3352 McAuliffe,3353 Jarvis,3354 McNair,3355 Onizuka, and3356 Resnik were named for the other crew members of the ill-fatedSTS-51-L mission. The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 26 March 1986 (M.P.C. 10549).[10]
