| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. R. Klemola |
| Discovery site | Lick Obs. |
| Discovery date | 2 May 1973 |
| Designations | |
| (2014) Vasilevskis | |
Named after | Stanislavs Vasilevskis (astronomer; staff member)[2] |
| 1973 JA | |
| main-belt · Phocaea[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[5] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 44.00 yr (16,072 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.0908AU |
| Perihelion | 1.7134 AU |
| 2.4021 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2867 |
| 3.72yr (1,360 days) | |
| 295.50° | |
| 0° 15m 52.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 21.376° |
| 204.09° | |
| 82.819° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 9.044±0.043 km[6] 9.071±0.051 km[7] 11.84±0.81 km[8] | |
| 15.6±0.1h[9] 32.16±0.02 h[10] 36.25 h[11] 39±2 h[12] | |
| 0.23(assumed)[3] 0.265±0.038[8] 0.309±0.041[6] 0.4513±0.1032[7] | |
| S[3] | |
| 11.7[7][8] · 12.3[5][3] · 12.76±1.16[13] | |
2014 Vasilevskis, provisional designation1973 JA, is a stony Phocaeanasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) in diameter. It was discovered on 2 May 1973, by American astronomer Arnold Klemola at the U.S.Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, California. It was named after Stanislavs Vasilevskis, staff member at the discovering observatory.[2][1]
Vasilevskis is a member of thePhocaea family (701),[4] a group of asteroids with similar orbital characteristics, named after the family's namesake,25 Phocaea. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.7–3.1 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,360 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.29 and aninclination of 21° with respect to theecliptic.[5] Noprecoveries were taken prior to its discovery.[1]
Vasilevskis has been characterized as a commonS-type asteroid.[3]
In May 2014, a photometriclightcurve analysis by American astronomerRobert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies (U81), California, gave arotation period of32.16±0.02 hours with a brightness variation of 0.26 inmagnitude (U=3-).[10]
Alternative measurements also made in 2014, include an observation by astronomerRené Roy, which rendered a period of39±2 hours with an amplitude of 0.31 in magnitude (U=2),[12] and an analysis at the Burleith Observatory (I13), with a period of15.6±0.1 hours, or 49% of the first period (U=2-).[9]
According to the space-based surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures between 9.1 and 11.8 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo between 0.265 and 0.451.[8][7] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo 0.23 – derived from 25 Phocaea, the family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 9.6 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 12.3.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after astronomer Stanislavs Vasilevskis (died 1988), long-time staff member at the discovering Lick Observatory from 1949 to 1974.[2]
A specialist forastrometric instrumentation, in particular the computational analysis of the position of astronomical objects fromphotographic plates, he has also performed broad astronomical surveys to obtain theparallax andproper motion of stars.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 30 June 1977 (M.P.C. 4190).[14]
