| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. T. Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 24 September 1960 |
| Designations | |
| (1979) Sakharov | |
Named after | Andrei Sakharov (Russian physicist)[2] |
| 2006 P-L · 1971 SQ3 1982 SZ12 | |
| main-belt · Vestian[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 56.60 yr (20,672 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6125AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1368 AU |
| 2.3747 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1002 |
| 3.66yr (1,337 days) | |
| 157.42° | |
| 0° 16m 9.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.0480° |
| 202.65° | |
| 221.15° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.51 km(taken)[3] 4.512 km[4] 4.760±0.211 km[5][6] |
| 7.5202±0.0003h[7] 7.5209±0.0002 h[1][a] 7.521±0.005 h[a] 7.589±0.001 h[8] | |
| 0.262[3][4] 0.3103±0.0450[5] 0.394±0.040[6] | |
| Q-V[9] · S[3] | |
| 13.31±0.02(R)[a] · 13.5[5] · 13.6[1] · 13.67±0.28[9] · 13.8±0.054[4][3] | |
1979 Sakharov, provisionally designated2006 P-L, is a stony Vestianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered during thePalomar–Leiden survey in 1960, and named after Russian physicistAndrei Sakharov.
Sakharov was discovered on 24 September 1960, by the Dutch astronomersIngrid andCornelis van Houten, on photographic plates taken by Dutch–American astronomerTom Gehrels at the U.S.Palomar Observatory in California.[10]
Thesurvey designation "P-L" stands forPalomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory andLeiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitfulPalomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar'sSamuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped thephotographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory whereastrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery of several thousand minor planets.[11]
Sakharov is a member of theVesta family, which is named after the main-belt's second-largest body,4 Vesta. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,337 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.10 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar, .[10]
The stonyS-type asteroid, has been characterized as aQ-V-type byPanSTARRS photometric survey.[9]
In 2011 and 2013, a total of four well-defined rotationallightcurves were obtained for this asteroid by astronomers Julian Oey at the Australian Kingsgrove and Leura/ Blue Mountains Observatory (E19 andE17/Q68)[7][8] and byPetr Pravec at the CzechOndřejov Observatory.[a] The lightcurve gave arotation period of 7.520 to 7.589 hours with a brightness variation between 0.12 and 0.22 inmagnitude (U=3/3-/3-/3).
According to the original data from theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 4.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.31,[5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with the revised NEOWISE data[4] which gave an albedo of 0.26 and a diameter of 4.5 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.8.[3]
Thisminor planet was named in honour of renowned Russian mathematician and physicistAndrei Sakharov (1921–1989), who received theNobel Peace Prize in 1975.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 August 1981 (M.P.C. 6207).[12]
