| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 4 October 1961 |
| Designations | |
| (1994) Shane | |
Named after | C. Donald Shane[2] (American astronomer) |
| 1961 TE · 1939 RN | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] Adeona[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 77.64 yr (28,358 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2332AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1282 AU |
| 2.6807 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2061 |
| 4.39yr (1,603 days) | |
| 298.87° | |
| 0° 13m 28.56s / day | |
| Inclination | 10.217° |
| 244.73° | |
| 89.669° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 17.91±0.93 km[5] 25.00 km(derived)[3] 25.15±0.6 km(IRAS:19)[6] |
| 8h[7] 8.220±0.001 h[8] | |
| 0.0340(derived)[3] 0.0640±0.003(IRAS:19)[6] 0.129±0.014[5] | |
| S[3] | |
| 11.6[5][6] · 11.81±0.86[9] · 12.3[1][3] | |
1994 Shane, provisional designation1961 TE, is a dark Adeonianasteroid from the central region of theasteroid belt, approximately 25 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 4 October 1961, by astronomers of theIndiana Asteroid Program conducted at theGoethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States.[10] It was later named after American astronomerC. Donald Shane.[2]
Shane is a member of theAdeona family (505), a largefamily of carbonaceous asteroids.[4]
The asteroid orbits the Sun in theintermediate main belt at a distance of 2.1–3.2 AU once every 4 years and 5 months (1,603 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.21 and aninclination of 10° with respect to theecliptic.[1] It was first identified as1939 RN atSimeiz Observatory in 1939, extendingShane'sobservation arc by 22 years prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe.[10]
In October 2009, a rotationallightcurve ofShane was obtained from photometric observations at the Via Capote Observatory (G69) in California. It gave a well-definedrotation period of 8.22 hours with a brightness variation of 0.26magnitude (U=3),[8] superseding a previously obtained period of 8 hours from 1996 (U=n.a.).[7]
According to observations made by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS,Shane has analbedo of 0.06,[6] while the survey carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite rendered a higher albedo of 0.13 with a corresponding diameter of 18 kilometers.[5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an even lower albedo of 0.04, yet does not classify it as acarbonaceous but rather as aS-type asteroid, which typically have much higher albedos due to their stony surface composition.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after American astronomerCharles Donald Shane (1895–1983), director ofLick Observatory, second president ofAURA, and instrumental for the establishment of theCerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
Shane played a major role in the planning and construction of the first telescopes and buildings onKitt Peak National Observatory as well.[2] The 3-meterC. Donald Shane telescope, located at Lick Observatory, was also named after him. The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 March 1981 (M.P.C. 5848).[11]
