| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 21 September 1987 |
| Designations | |
| (4177) Kohman | |
Named after | Truman P. Kohman [1] (American nuclear chemist) |
| 1987 SS1 | |
| main-belt [1] · (outer)[2] Griqua [3] · (2:1 res)[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics [2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 33.68yr (12,300 d) |
| Aphelion | 4.2465AU |
| Perihelion | 2.3574 AU |
| 3.3020 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2861 |
| 6.00 yr (2,192 d) | |
| 23.119° | |
| 0° 9m 51.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 17.174° |
| 210.69° | |
| 157.88° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 11.059±0.229 km[5] | |
| 0.120±0.033[5] | |
| 13.0[2] | |
4177 Kohman, provisional designation1987 SS1, is a resonant Griquaasteroid from the outermost regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 21 September 1987, by American astronomerEdward Bowell at theAnderson Mesa Station of theLowell Observatory near Flagstaff, Arizona, in the United States.[1] The asteroid was named for American nuclear chemistTruman Kohman.[1][6]
Kohman is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population, and a member of the small group ofGriqua asteroids,[3] located in theHecuba gap and locked in a 2:1mean-motion resonance with the gas giantJupiter.[4] Contrary to the nearbyZhongguo asteroids, the orbits of the Griquas are less stable with a much shorter lifetime.[3]
It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.4–4.2 AU once every 6.00 years (2,192 days;semi-major axis of 3.3 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.29 and aninclination of 17° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken at theSiding Spring Observatory in May 1984, more than 3 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.[1]
Kohman has anabsolute magnitude of 13.0.[2] As of 2018, no rotationallightcurve for this has been obtained fromphotometric observations. The body'srotation period,pole and shape remain unknown.[2]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Kohman measures 11.06 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.12.[5]
Thisminor planet was named afterTruman Paul Kohman (1916–2010), American professor of nuclear chemistry atCarnegie Mellon University who co-discovered in 1954 the nuclidealuminium-26, which has since been studied inmeteorites and given important information about the early history of theSolar System.[1][6] In 1947 he coined the wordnuclide to describe an atom with given numbers of protons and neutrons in its nucleus.[7] Kohman was also an ardent amateur astronomer.[1][6]
The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 23 May 2000 (M.P.C. 40700).[8]
