| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | F. Dossin |
| Discovery site | Haute-Provence Obs. |
| Discovery date | 23 December 1984 |
| Designations | |
| 4440 Tchantchès | |
Named after | Tchantchès (Belgian folklore figure)[2] |
| 1984 YV | |
| main-belt · (inner)[1] Hungaria[3][4][5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 32.24 yr (11,775 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.0694AU |
| Perihelion | 1.7731 AU |
| 1.9212 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0771 |
| 2.66yr (973 days) | |
| 60.453° | |
| 0° 22m 12.36s / day | |
| Inclination | 21.349° |
| 283.33° | |
| 225.01° | |
| Knownsatellites | 1(possible)[6][7][5] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 2.093±0.586 km[8][9] 4.42 km(calculated)[4] |
| 2.783h[10] 2.788 h[11][12] 2.7883 h[13][14] 2.78836±0.00004 h[6] 2.7884±0.0001 h[7] 2.7886±0.0002 h[7] 2.789±0.001 h[15] 2.790±0.002 h[10][a] 6.83±0.1 h(wrong)[16] | |
| 0.3(assumed)[4] 1.000±0.063[8][9] | |
| E[4][8] | |
| 13.3[8] · 13.7[1][4] · 13.83±0.24[17] · 13.930±0.002(R)[12] · 14.0±0.2[13] | |
4440 Tchantchès, provisional designation1984 YV, is a rather elongated Hungariaasteroid and a possiblebinary system from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 23 December 1984, by astronomerFrançois Dossin atHaute-Provence Observatory in France[3] and named after the Belgian folklore characterTchantchès.[2] It is possibly orbited by a sub-kilometer sizedminor-planet moon every 15 hours.
Tchantchès is a member of theHungaria family, a group which forms the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in theSolar System. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–2.1 AU once every 2 years and 8 months (973 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.08 and aninclination of 21° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation as noprecoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made.[3]
Tchantchès has been characterized as a brightE-type asteroid by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.[8]
Between 2002 and 2014, numerous rotationallightcurves ofTchantchès had been obtained from photometric observations by American astronomerBrian Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado.[6][7][10][11][13][14][a] Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 2.7883 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.21 and 0.34magnitude (U=3/3/3-).[4] Assuming an equatorial view on a simple triaxialellipsoid, Warner estimates the body's shape to be elongated by 30% (a/b ratio of 1.3:1).[6]
Other lightcurves with a concurring period were obtained by French amateur astronomerBernard Christophe in October 2002, and at thePalomar Transient Factory in California in July 2010 (U=2/2).[12][15]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's NEOWISE mission,Tchantchès measures 2.093 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an outstandingly highalbedo of 1.000,[8][9] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.30 – a compromise value between 0.4 and 0.2, corresponding to the Hungaria asteroids both as family and orbital group – and calculates a diameter of 4.42 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.7.[4]
In 2013, reviewing the photometric data obtained in October 2005, Brian Warner found evidence thatTchantchès is possibly an asynchronousbinary asteroid. Attenuations seen in the revised lightcurve indicated mutual occultations and eclipses events caused by aminor-planet moon orbitingTchantchès. The satellite has anorbital period of 15.35 hours (2014 publication),[4] and diameter of at least 25% of that of its primary.[6][11] The Johnston's archive derives a satellite diameter of 510 meters and estimates asemi-major axis of 3.8 kilometers for its orbit.[5]
Thisminor planet was named after the popular folklore characterTchantchès (Walloon for François) in the French-speaking part of Belgium, where the discoverer François Dossin lives. Tchantchès lived duringCharlemagne's times in the early Middle Ages. The stubborn boy with a great heart is nowadays depicted as a folkloric marionette. The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 8 December 1998 (M.P.C. 33385).[2][18]
