| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | M. Arai H. Mori |
| Discovery site | Yorii Obs. |
| Discovery date | 5 December 1988 |
| Designations | |
| (3996) Fugaku | |
Named after | Mount Fuji(Japan)[2] |
| 1988 XG1 · 1939 FZ 1957 TB · 1981 SO5 1981 UM16 | |
| main-belt · Flora [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 78.22 yr (28,570 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4941AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0254 AU |
| 2.2597 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1037 |
| 3.40yr (1,241 days) | |
| 338.50° | |
| 0° 17m 24.36s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.2842° |
| 90.755° | |
| 156.18° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 5.151±0.074 km[4] 5.231±0.032 km[5] 5.40 km(calculated)[3] 5.88±1.10 km[6] |
| 7.1912±0.0016h[7] | |
| 0.24(assumed)[3] 0.34±0.17[6] 0.4086±0.0152[5] 0.420±0.066[4] | |
| S [3] | |
| 13.0[1][5][6] · 13.055±0.003(R)[7] · 13.5[3] · 13.57±0.25[8] | |
3996 Fugaku, provisional designation1988 XG1, is a stony Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 5.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 5 December 1988, by Japanese amateur astronomersMasaru Arai andHiroshi Mori atYorii Observatory in central Japan.[9] It was named forMount Fuji, Japan.[2]
Fugaku 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 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,241 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.10 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[1] It was first identified as1939 FZ atTurku Observatory in 1939, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 49 years prior to its official discovery observation.[9]
Fugaku has been characterized as a stonyS-type asteroid, the most common type in the inner main-belt.[1]
In March 210, a rotationallightcurve ofFugaku was obtained from photometric observations at thePalomar Transient Factory in California. It gave arotation period of 7.1912 hours with a change in brightness of 0.86magnitude (U=2).[7]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Fugaku measures between 5.15 and 5.88 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo between 0.34 and 0.42.[4][5][6] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this family – and calculates a diameter of 5.40 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.5.[3]
Thisminor planet was named for the ancient name ofMount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain and a well-known symbol. Another minor planet,1584 Fuji, is also named for this mountain.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 4 May 1999 (M.P.C. 34619).[10]
