| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | LONEOS |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa |
| Discovery date | 25 April 2003 |
| Designations | |
| (326732) Nice | |
| Pronunciation | /niːs/NEESS |
Named after | Nice, France |
| 2003 HB6[1] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Aphelion | 4.2605 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.1658AU |
| 2.7132 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.5703 |
| 4.4692 yr (1632.37 d) | |
| 348.1798° | |
| Inclination | 6.6184° |
| 161.6112° | |
| 145.8055° | |
| Knownsatellites | 1 |
| Earth MOID | 0.1637 AU |
| TJupiter | 3.096 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1.95 ± 0.63 kilometres (1.21 ± 0.39 mi)[3]: 4244 |
| 3.463 h[4]: 27 | |
| X-type orD-type[3]: 4237 L-type[5] Color indices:[3]: 4244 g–r =0.531±0.015 r–i =0.190±0.018 i–z =0.089±0.025 | |
| 17.66 (JPL)[2] | |
326732 Nice (/niːs/NEESS; provisional designation2003 HB6) is a binarynear-Earth asteroid. It was discovered on 25 April 2003 by theLowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search (LONEOS) project and named after the French city ofNice on 24 February 2025. Classified as anAmor asteroid, it has a diameter of nearly 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) and rotates once every 3.5 hours. It has one known moon; the unnamed satellite's discovery was announced on 18 September 2021.
Nice was discovered by theLowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search (LONEOS) project atAnderson Mesa on 25 April 2003.[1] It was given theprovisional designation2003 HB6, and its discovery was announced in a Minor Planet Electronic Circular the next day.[6] Once its orbit was sufficiently determined, it was numbered 326732 by theMinor Planet Center on 6 May 2012.[7]
On 24 February 2025, the asteroid was given the nameNice by theWorking Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN). The asteroid was named in honor of the city ofNice, France, which was founded byGreek colonists in 350 BCE. The city was declared a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 2021, and it is home to theCôte d'Azur Observatory, whoseplanetary science team has been well-involved in asteroid research.[8]: 16 The city is also the namesake for theNice model, which proposes that thegiant planets migrated to their current orbits from a more compact configuration early in theSolar System's history.[9] The name was proposed by planetary scientistPatrick Michel,principal investigator of the ESA'sHera mission. The mission aims to study the effects of NASA'sDouble Asteroid Redirection Test impact onDimorphos, a moon of65803 Didymos.[10] Michel stated that his naming proposal aimed to bring recognition to Nice's contributions to astronomy.[11]
Nice orbits the Sun with asemi-major axis (a) of 2.71astronomical units (AU), completing one orbit every 4.47 years. It has anorbital inclination of 6.62° with respect to theecliptic plane. Due to itsorbital eccentricity of 0.57, its distance to the Sun along its orbit varies from 4.26 AU ataphelion to 1.17 AU atperihelion.[2] It is classified as anear-Earth asteroid (NEA), and it is a member of theAmor asteroids—NEAs whose orbits lie entirely outside Earth's (a > 1.0 AU) but have perihelia under 1.3 AU.[2][12]
Nice has a diameter of 1.95 ± 0.63 kilometres (1.21 ± 0.39 mi).[3]: 4244 It is either anX-type,D-type, orL-type asteroid.[3]: 4237 [5] Spectrally, Nice closely resembles theTagish Lake meteorite, and may be its source object.[13]: 331
Analysis of Nice'slightcurve, or fluctuations in its observed brightness as it rotates, indicates that it has arotation period of 3.463 hours.[4]: 27 Its rotation period lies close to the spin barrier, which lies at 2.2 hours. The spin barrier is the critical rotation period below which a strengthlessrubble pile asteroid with a bulk density of 2.2 g/cm3 would structurally fail due to thecentrifugal force.[3]: 4240
| Discovery[5] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Petr Pravec et al. |
| Discovery site | |
| Discovery date | 18 September 2021 |
| Orbital characteristics[4]: 27–28 | |
| 22.903 h | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 22.903 h (synchronous)[4]: 28 | |
Nice has one known satellite, making it abinary asteroid. It was discovered by a team of astronomers led byPetr Pravec inphotometric observations taken atOndrejov Observatory and theEuropean Southern Observatory between 10 August and 15 September 2021. Its discovery was announced through theCentral Bureau Electronic Telegrams on 18 September of that year.[5] The satellite currently has no name or official designation.[2]
Mutualeclipses indicate that the satellite is0.23±0.02 times the size of Nice. The lightcurve of the satellite suggests that it has a slightly elongated shape, with an a/b ratio of1.4±0.2.[5] It orbits with a period of 22.903 hours, and it is synchronouslytidally locked to Nice.[4]: 27–28
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