| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | March 14 1950 |
| Designations | |
| (1602) Indiana | |
Named after | Indiana(U.S. state)[2] |
| 1950 GF · 1943 DJ 1975 XR | |
| main-belt · Flora[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch September 4 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 74.27 yr (27,128 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4796AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0104 AU |
| 2.2450 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1045 |
| 3.36yr (1,229 days) | |
| 57.226° | |
| 0° 17m 34.8s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.1618° |
| 75.134° | |
| 73.437° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.970±0.810 km[4] 8.41±0.59 km[5] 8.515±0.047 km[6] 8.62 km(calculated)[3] |
| 2.57±0.06h[a] 2.601±0.001 h[7] 2.610±0.001 h[8] | |
| 0.24(assumed)[3] 0.2503±0.0493[6] 0.259±0.040[5] 0.297±0.095[4] | |
| B–V = 0.930[1] U–B = 0.550[1] Tholen =S[1] · S[3] | |
| 12.49[1][3][5][6] · 12.57±0.24[9] | |
1602 Indiana, provisional designation1950 GF, is a stony Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on March 14 1950, byIU'sIndiana Asteroid Program atGoethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, in the United States.[10] It was later named after the U.S. state ofIndiana and forIndiana University.[2]
Indiana is a member of theFlora family, a large collisional group of stonyS-type asteroids in theinner main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 4 months (1,229 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.10 and aninclination of 4° with respect to theecliptic.[1]Indiana was first identified as1943 DJ atTurku Observatory in Finland, extending the body'sobservation arc by 7 years prior to its official discovery observation.[10]
Three rotationallightcurves ofIndiana were obtained from photometric observations taken by astronomerMichael Pietschnig, Gary Vander Haagen and Michael Fleenor in Spring 2007. The lightcurve analysis gave arotation period between 2.57 and 2.61 hours with a change in brightness of 0.12 to 0.19magnitude, respectively (U=2/3/3-).[a][7][8]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Indiana measures between 7.97 and 8.52 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo between 0.250 and 0.297.[4][5][6] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this family – and calculates a diameter of 8.62 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 12.49.[3]
Thisminor planet was named for the U.S. state ofIndiana and forIndiana University with its astronomy department, which is the parent institution of the discovering Goethe Link Observatory.[2]
Originally the discovery was credited toBeryl H. Potter (1900–1985), after whom the asteroid1729 Beryl is named. She was research assistant at the Indiana University, who participated in the program of minor planet observations from 1949 to 1966. During this period, she analysed nearly 6,300 photographic plates, measuring the positions of minor planets and reporting lost asteroids to IAU's Minor Planet Circulars (MPCs) for publication. However, according toFrank K. Edmondson (1912–2008), chairman of the Astronomy Department of Indiana University(also see1761 Edmondson), there were several assistants involved in blinking the photographic plates during the first years of the program. The discovery was therefore credited to Indiana University, instead.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center in January 1955 (M.P.C. 1171).[11]
