| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. Gilmore P. Kilmartin |
| Discovery site | Mount John University Obs. |
| Discovery date | 23 March 1985 |
| Designations | |
| (3563) Canterbury | |
Named after | Canterbury Province (province of New Zealand )[2] |
| 1985 FE · 1978 VL6 | |
| main-belt · (middle) [3] Dora [4] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 38.40 yr (14,024 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2954AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2853 AU |
| 2.7904 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1810 |
| 4.66yr (1,703 days) | |
| 283.52° | |
| 0° 12m 41.4s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.9555° |
| 267.78° | |
| 346.06° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 13.72 km(calculated)[3] 15.26±3.43 km[5] 16.924±0.125 km[6][7] 21.08±8.45 km[8] |
| 15.553±0.0118h[9] | |
| 0.040±0.055[8] 0.050±0.013[6][7] 0.057(assumed)[3] 0.06±0.04[5] | |
| SMASS = Ch [1] · C [3][10] | |
| 12.4[6] · 12.50[8] · 12.591±0.002(R)[9] · 12.60[5] · 12.7[1] · 12.79±0.36[10] 13.04[3] | |
3563 Canterbury, provisional designation1985 FE, is a dark Dorianasteroid from the middle regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 23 March 1985, by astronomer coupleAlan Gilmore andPamela Kilmartin atMount John University Observatory near Lake Tekapo, New Zealand.[11] The asteroid was named after New Zealand'sCanterbury Province.[2]
Canterbury is a member of theDora family, a largeasteroid family of more than 1,200 carbonaceous asteroids, named after668 Dora. It is also known as the "Zhongolovich family", named after its presumably largest member1734 Zhongolovich. The Dora family may also contain a subfamily.[4][12]: 13, 23
Canterbury orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.3–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,703 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.18 and aninclination of 7° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The asteroid was first identified as1978 VL6 atPalomar Observatory, extending the body'sobservation arc by 7 years prior to its official discovery observation.[11]
Canterbury has been characterized as a darkC-type asteroid byPan-STARRS photometric survey.[10] It is also classified as a hydrated Ch-subtype in theSMASS taxonomy.[1]
In October 2010, a rotationallightcurve ofCanterbury was obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at thePalomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 15.553 hours with a brightness variation of 0.61magnitude (U=2).[9]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Canterbury measures between 15.26 and 21.08 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.040 and 0.060.[5][6][7][8] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo forcarbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 13.72 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 13.04.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after New Zealand'sCanterbury Province, on the eastern side of the South Island. It is also named for theUniversity of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 28 May 1991 (M.P.C. 18306).[13]
