| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 4 June 1986 |
| Designations | |
| (3988) Huma | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhuːmə/[2] |
Named after | Huma bird (Persian mythology)[3] |
| 1986 LA | |
| Amor · NEO[1][3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 29.61 yr (10,815 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.0335AU |
| Perihelion | 1.0556 AU |
| 1.5445 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3166 |
| 1.92yr (701 days) | |
| 61.265° | |
| 0° 30m 48.6s / day | |
| Inclination | 10.768° |
| 229.82° | |
| 86.912° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.1781 AU · 69.4LD |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 0.7 km[1] 0.782 km(calculated)[4] |
| 10.4±0.1h[a] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[4] | |
| S[4] | |
| 17.9[1][4] · 17.97±0.15[5] · 18.17±0.29[6] | |
3988 Huma, provisional designation1986 LA, is an eccentric sub-kilometerasteroid andnear-Earth object of theAmor group. It was discovered on 4 June 1986, by American astronomerEleanor Helin atPalomar Observatory, California.[3] The asteroid measures approximately 700 to 800 meters in diameter and was named after theHuma bird from Iranian mythology.
Huma is a stonyS-type asteroid that orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.1–2.0 AU once every 1 years and 11 months (701 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.32 and aninclination of 11° with respect to theecliptic.[1] As noprecoveries were taken, the body'sobservation arc begins with its discovery observation at Palomar in 1986.[3]
It has anEarthminimum orbit intersection distance of 0.1781 AU (26,600,000 km), which corresponds to 69.4lunar distances.[1]
A rotationallightcurve ofHuma was obtained by American astronomerBrian A. Skiff in July 2011. It gave arotation period of10.4±0.1 hours with a brightness variation of 0.24magnitude (U=2+).[a]
In the 1990s, Dutch–American astronomerTom Gehrels estimatedHuma to measure 0.7 kilometers in diameter, based on an assumed medium albedo of 0.15. More recently, theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumed a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculated a diameter of 0.78 kilometers.[4]
Thisminor planet was named after theHuma bird fromPersian mythology andSufi poetry. The mythological bird never alights on the ground, and its appearance in the sky is said to be a sign of fortune. The asteroid's name was suggested by theSGAC Name An Asteroid Campaign[3] and its citation was published on 9 September 2014 (M.P.C. 89832).[7]
