| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | K. Reinmuth |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 7 February 1938 |
| Designations | |
| (2022) West | |
Named after | Richard M. West (Danish astronomer)[2] |
| 1938 CK · 1949 TA 1973 AP | |
| main-belt · (middle) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 79.12 yr (28,897 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.0268AU |
| Perihelion | 2.3840 AU |
| 2.7054 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1188 |
| 4.45yr (1,625 days) | |
| 61.733° | |
| 0° 13m 17.4s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.6594° |
| 2.5076° | |
| 37.063° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 11.04±0.83 km[3] 12.634±0.341 km[4] 12.916±0.133 km[5] 26.64 km(calculated)[6] |
| 14.14±0.01h[7] | |
| 0.057(assumed)[6] 0.1682±0.0207[5] 0.175±0.043[4] 0.230±0.036[3] | |
| SMASS =S[1] · C[6] | |
| 11.6[1][6] · 11.63±0.05[7] · 11.70±0.19[8] · 12.0[3][5] | |
2022 West, provisional designation1938 CK, is a stonyasteroid from the middle regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomerKarl Reinmuth atHeidelberg Observatory on 7 February 1938.[9] The asteroid was named after Danish astronomerRichard M. West.[2]
West orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 5 months (1,625 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.12 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The asteroidobservation arc begins at Heidelberg one month after its official discovery observation in March 1938.[9]
In theSMASS classification,West is a commonS-type asteroid.[1]
In November 2016, a first rotationallightcurve ofWest was obtained from photometric observations by Italian astronomers. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 14.14 hours with a brightness variation of 0.50magnitude (U=3-).[7]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,West measures between 11.04 and 12.916 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.1682 and 0.23.[3][4][5]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo forcarbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and consequently calculates a much larger diameter of 26.64 kilometers using anabsolute magnitude of 11.6.[6]
Thisminor planet was named after Danish astronomerRichard Martin West (born 1941), an observer anddiscoverer of minor planets at the European Southern Observatory inLa Silla. West also discovered76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura, a brightcomet of theJupiter family. He also was theInternational Astronomical Union's general secretary (1982–1985) and president of its Commission XX (1988–1991).[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 April 1978 (M.P.C. 4359).[10]
