| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | T. Seki |
| Discovery site | Geisei Obs. |
| Discovery date | 30 October 1986 |
| Designations | |
| (3851) Alhambra | |
Named after | Alhambra (World Heritage Site)[2] |
| 1986 UZ · 1950 MC 1960 RA · 1965 CD 1973 SE4 · 1973 ST2 | |
| main-belt · Flora[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 66.95 yr (24,452 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.3148AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0338 AU |
| 2.1743 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0646 |
| 3.21yr (1,171 days) | |
| 188.88° | |
| 0° 18m 26.64s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.6276° |
| 344.66° | |
| 97.438° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.504±0.390[4] 6.51 km(calculated)[3] 6.813±0.036 km[5] |
| 53h[6] | |
| 0.218±0.052[4] 0.24(assumed)[3] 0.2419±0.0418[5] | |
| S[3] | |
| 13.0[5] · 13.1[1][3] · 13.78±0.00[7] | |
3851 Alhambra, provisional designation1986 UZ, is a stony Floraasteroid and relativelyslow rotator from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 October 1986, by Japanese astronomerTsutomu Seki atGeisei Observatory in Kōchi, Japan.[8] The asteroid was named for the World Heritage SiteAlhambra, in Granada, Spain.[2]
TheS-type asteroid is a member of theFlora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.3 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,171 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.06 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The firstprecovery was taken atLa Plata Astronomical Observatory in 1950, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 36 years prior to its discovery.[8]
A rotationallightcurve ofAlhambra was obtained from photometric observations made at the Australian Hunters Hill Observatory (E14) in March 2007. It rendered a longrotation period of 53 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.35 inmagnitude (U=2).[6] While not being aslow rotator,Alhambra's period is much longer than that of most asteroids.
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA's space-basedWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Alhambra measures 6.5 and 6.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.218 and 0.242, respectively,[4][5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a diameter of 6.5 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.1.[3]
Thisminor planet was named for theAlhambra ("the red one"), the famous medieval palace and fortress complex of the Moorish emirs, located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. The place with itsIslamic architecture is now a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site and one of Spain's major tourist attractions. The virtuoso classical guitaristAndrés Segovia, after whom the minor planet3822 Segovia is named, had the pieceRecuerdos de la Alhambra (Memories of the Alhambra) in his repertoire.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 21 April 1989 (M.P.C. 14482).[9]
