| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 30 March 1952 |
| Designations | |
| (1761) Edmondson | |
Named after | Frank Edmondson (American astronomer)[2] |
| 1952 FN · 1940 BC 1950 XP · 1952 HT 1955 US · 1969 JK 1978 WY | |
| main-belt · background[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 64.74 yr (23,646 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.9145AU |
| Perihelion | 2.4388 AU |
| 3.1766 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2323 |
| 5.66yr (2,068 days) | |
| 282.49° | |
| 0° 10m 26.76s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.4636° |
| 76.988° | |
| 49.903° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 20.51 km(calculated)[3] 21.94±0.94 km[4] |
| 4.208±0.002h[5] | |
| 0.08(assumed)[3] 0.102±0.009[4] | |
| C[3] | |
| 11.40[4] · 11.8[1][3] · 12.06±0.33[6] | |
1761 Edmondson, provisional designation1952 FN, is a dark backgroundasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 21 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 March 1952, by theIndiana Asteroid Program atGoethe Link Observatory, United States.[7] It was named after astronomerFrank Edmondson.[2]
Edmondson is abackground asteroid, located near the region occupied by theThemis family, a dynamical family ofouter-belt asteroids with nearly coplanarecliptical orbits. It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.9 AU once every 5 years and 8 months (2,068 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.23 and aninclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
It was first identified as1940 BC atKonkoly Observatory in 1940. The body'sobservation arc begins with its identification as1950 XP atMcDonald Observatory in 1950, or 2 years prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.[7]
Edmondson has been characterized as a carbonaceousC-type asteroid.[3]
In November 2012, a rotationallightcurve ofEdmondson was obtained from photometric observations at the Etscorn Campus Observatory (719) in New Mexico, United States. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 4.208 hours with a brightness variation of 0.29magnitude (U=3).[5]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite,Edmondson measures 21.94 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.102,[4] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a more typical albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.08 and calculates a diameter of 20.51 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 11.8.[3]
Thisminor planet was named for astronomerFrank K. Edmondson (1912–2008) ofIndiana University, the program's founder and director.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 20 February 1971 (M.P.C. 3143).[8]
