_Malbil.png) Shape model ofMalbil from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 30 January 1982 |
| Designations | |
| (7387) Malbil | |
Named after | Malcolm Bilson (American pianist)[2] |
| 1982 BS1 | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 35.44 yr (12,946 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.8283AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0728 AU |
| 2.4506 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1542 |
| 3.84yr (1,401 days) | |
| 139.08° | |
| 0° 15m 24.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 7.0546° |
| 151.07° | |
| 295.00° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 6.3 km(est. at0.20)[7] | |
| 7.5498 h[8] | |
| 13.4[3] | |
7387 Malbil (prov. designation:1982 BS1) is an elongatedbackground asteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt. It was discovered on 30 January 1982, by American astronomerEdward Bowell at Lowell'sAnderson Mesa Station in Arizona, United States.[1] The asteroid has arotation period of 7.5 hours and measures approximately 6 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. It is named for American pianistMalcolm Bilson.[2]
Malbil is a non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population when applying thehierarchical clustering method to itsproper orbital elements.[4][5] It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,401 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.15 and aninclination of 7° with respect to theecliptic.[3] The body'sobservation arc begins with its first used observation at the discovering observatory in 1986, or 4 years after its official discovery observation.[1]
Thisminor planet was named after Americanfortepianist and musicologistMalcolm Bilson (born 1935), who gave a recital at the "Asteroids, Comets, Meteors" conference atCornell University in New York.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 28 July 1999 (M.P.C. 35485).[9]
As of 2020,Malbil's effective size, its composition andalbedo remain unknown.[3][10] Data fromphotometric observation gave a modeled siderealrotation period of 7.5498 hours and twospin axes at (253°, −74°) and (127.0°, −69.0°) inecliptic coordinates (λ, β). The modeling suggests that the asteroid is rather elongated in shape.[8]
Based on amagnitude-to-diameter conversion, its generic diameter is between 5 and 12 kilometer for anabsolute magnitude of 13.4, and an assumed albedo in the range of 0.05 to 0.25.[7] Since asteroids in theinner main-belt are typically ofstony rather thancarbonaceous composition, with albedos of 0.20 or higher,Malbil's diameter can be estimate to measure around 6.3 kilometers, as the higher its albedo (reflectivity), the lower the body's diameter at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).[7]
