| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Purple Mountain Obs. |
| Discovery site | Purple Mountain Obs. |
| Discovery date | 20 January 1955 |
| Designations | |
| (3960) Chaliubieju | |
Named after | Cha Liubieju[2] (friend of a discoverer) |
| 1955 BG · 1984 YZ3 A921 EF | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 62.45 yr (22,811 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.3782AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9050 AU |
| 2.6416 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2788 |
| 4.29yr (1,568 days) | |
| 217.16° | |
| 0° 13m 46.56s / day | |
| Inclination | 14.414° |
| 84.839° | |
| 12.605° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.13±1.18 km[4] 8.13±1.44 km[5] 8.997±0.259 km[6] 9.00±0.26 km[6] 14.57 km(calculated)[3] |
| 3.984±0.002h[7] 3.986±0.001 h[8] | |
| 0.10(assumed)[3] 0.288±0.030[6] 0.32±0.17[5] 0.34±0.11[4] | |
| S[3] | |
| 12.20[5][6] · 12.3[3] · 12.38±0.25[9] · 12.4[1] · 12.57[4] | |
3960 Chaliubieju, provisional designation1955 BG, is a stonyasteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 20 January 1955, by astronomers at thePurple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China.[10] The asteroid was named after Cha Liubieju, a friend of one of the discoverers.[2]
Chaliubieju is an asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population that does not belong to any knownasteroid family. It orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 1.9–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,568 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.28 and aninclination of 14° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified asA921 EF atBergedorf Observatory in March 1921. The body'sobservation arc begins at Nanjing, two days after its official discovery observation.[10]
Chaliubieju is an assumedS-type asteroid.[3]
In February 2011, a rotationallightcurve ofChaliubieju was obtained French amateur astronomerPierre Antonini. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 3.986 hours with a brightness variation of 0.27magnitude (U=3).[8] One month later another photometric observation at the Astronomical Research Observatory (H21) gave a concurring period of 3.984 hours and an amplitude of 0.30 magnitude (U=3-).[7]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission ofNASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Chaliubieju measures between 7.13 and 9.00 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.288 and 0.34,[4][5][6] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.10 and calculates a diameter of 14.57 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.3.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after Cha Liubieju, a friend of one of the discovering astronomers at thePurple Mountain Observatory. Liubieju is noted for her social work with sick and destitute mothers and children in China.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 5 October 1998 (M.P.C. 32787).[11]
