| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. W. Elst |
| Discovery site | La Silla Obs. |
| Discovery date | 9 March 1997 |
| Designations | |
| (12838) Adamsmith | |
Named after | Adam Smith (moral philosopher)[2] |
| 1997 EL55 · 1987 DX6 1997 HO14 · 1999 RX2 | |
| main-belt · Koronis[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 30.19 yr (11,026 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.0762AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6925 AU |
| 2.8843 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0665 |
| 4.90yr (1,789 days) | |
| 194.63° | |
| 0° 12m 4.32s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.1631° |
| 322.05° | |
| 89.801° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.16 km(calculated)[3] |
| 10.9090±0.0031h[4] | |
| 0.24(assumed)[3] | |
| S[3] | |
| 13.0[1] · 12.70±0.34[5] · 12.770±0.002(R)[4] · 13.22[3] | |
12838 Adamsmith, provisional designation1997 EL55, is a stony Koronisasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 9 March 1997, by Belgian astronomerEric Walter Elst atESO'sLa Silla Observatory in northern Chile.[6] It was named after Scottish philosopher and economistAdam Smith.[2]
Adamsmith is a member of theKoronis family, a group of co-planar,stony asteroids in theouter main-belt, named after158 Koronis. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.7–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 11 months (1,789 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.07 and aninclination of 1° with respect to theecliptic.[3]
It was first identified as1987 DX6 at the discovering observatory in 1987, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 10 years prior to its official discovery observation.[6]
In January 2011, a rotationallightcurve ofAdamsmith was obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at thePalomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of10.9090 hours with a brightness variation of 0.48magnitude (U=2).[4]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standardalbedo for stony Koronian asteroids of 0.24 and calculates a diameter of 6.2 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.22.[3]
Thisminor planet was named for the economistAdam Smith (1723–1790), Scottish moral philosopher and principal figure in theScottish Enlightenment. Known for his worksThe Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) andAn Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), he introduced the concept of thedivision of labour which represents a qualitative increase in productivity, and suggested that self-interest and competition can lead to economic prosperity.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center 30 July 2007(M.P.C. 60299).[7]
