_Thorvaldsen.png) Thorvaldsen modeled from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. T. Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 26 March 1971 |
| Designations | |
| (6257) Thorvaldsen | |
Named after | Bertel Thorvaldsen[1] (Danish sculptor) |
| 4098 T-1 · 1969 TH2 1978 ES5 · 1989 GB7 | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (inner) Vesta[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 48.54yr (17,731 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.5505AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1326 AU |
| 2.3416 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0893 |
| 3.58 yr (1,309 d) | |
| 167.51° | |
| 0° 16m 30.36s / day | |
| Inclination | 7.9145° |
| 30.505° | |
| 22.518° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 4.278±0.143 km[4] | |
| 0.384±0.042[4] | |
| 13.7[1][2] | |
6257 Thorvaldsen, provisional designation4098 T-1, is a bright Vestianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4.3 kilometers (2.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered during thePalomar–Leiden Trojan survey on 26 March 1971, byIngrid andCornelis van Houten at Leiden, andTom Gehrels atPalomar Observatory in California. The asteroid was named for Danish sculptorBertel Thorvaldsen.[1]
When applying thehierarchical clustering method to itsproper orbital elements,Thorvaldsen is a member of theVesta family.[3] It orbits the Sun in theinner asteroid belt at a distance of 2.1–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,309 days;semi-major axis of 2.34 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.09 and aninclination of 8° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The asteroid was first observed as1969 TH2 atCrimea–Nauchnij in October 1969. The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar in 1971.[1]
Thesurvey designation "T-1" stands for the firstPalomar–Leiden Trojan survey, named after the fruitful collaboration of the Palomar andLeiden Observatory in the 1960s and 1970s. Gehrels used Palomar'sSamuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped thephotographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory whereastrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery ofseveral thousand asteroid discoveries.[5]
Thisminor planet was named after Danish sculptorBertel Thorvaldsen (1768–1844). The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 5 March 1996 (M.P.C. 26765).[6]
Vestian asteroids have a composition akin to cumulateeucrites (HED meteorites) and are thought to have originated deep within4 Vesta's crust, possibly from theRheasilvia crater, a largeimpact crater on its southern hemisphere near the South pole, formed as a result of a subcatastrophic collision. Vesta is the main belt'ssecond-largest andsecond-most-massive body afterCeres.[7][8]Thorvaldsen has anabsolute magnitude of 13.7.[1][2] As of 2018, no rotationallightcurve of this asteroid 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,Thorvaldsen measures 4.278 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a highalbedo of 0.384.[4]
