| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 30 March 1955 |
| Designations | |
| (2026) Cottrell | |
Named after | Frederick Gardner Cottrell (American chemist)[2] |
| 1955 FF · 1951 EL1 1972 TE1 | |
| main-belt · (inner)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 66.15 yr (24,163 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7290AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1638 AU |
| 2.4464 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1155 |
| 3.83yr (1,398 days) | |
| 135.21° | |
| 0° 15m 27.36s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.4510° |
| 311.10° | |
| 211.67° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.46 km(calculated)[3] 11.43±2.35 km[4] 13.19±0.55 km[5] 13.97±7.02 km[6] 14.279±0.071 km[7][8] |
| 4.499±0.0014h[9] 4.499±0.0010 h[9] 4.4994±0.0004 h[10] | |
| 0.050±0.005[7][8] 0.063±0.053[6] 0.07±0.10[4] 0.088±0.009[5] 0.20(assumed)[3] | |
| S[3] | |
| 12.8[5][7] · 12.90[6] · 12.964±0.002(R)[9] · 13.0[1][3] · 13.15±0.90[11] · 13.18[4] | |
2026 Cottrell, provisional designation1955 FF, is a darkasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter.
The asteroid was discovered on 30 March 1955, byIU'sIndiana Asteroid Program atGoethe Link Observatory near Brooklyn, Indiana, United States.[12] It was named after American chemistFrederick Gardner Cottrell.[2]
Cottrell orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 10 months (1,398 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.12 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
In March 1951, the asteroid was identified as1951 EL1 atNice Observatory and two days later atMcDonald Observatory, extending the body'sobservation arc by four years prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.[12]
Two rotationallightcurve ofCottrell were obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at thePalomar Transient Factory in California. Analysis gave an identicalrotation period of 4.499 hours for both lightcurves and a brightness variation of 0.42 and 0.44magnitude, respectively (U=2/2).[9]
In February 2012, photometry at the Etscorn Campus Observatory (719), New Mexico, gave a well-defined period of 4.4994 hours with an amplitude of 0.77 magnitude, which indicates that the body has a non-spheroidal shape (U=3).[10]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Cottrell measures between 11.43 and 14.279 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.050 and 0.088.[4][5][6][7][8]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo forstony asteroids of 0.20 and consequently calculates a much smaller diameter of 7.46 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 13.0.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after American chemistFrederick Gardner Cottrell (1877–1948), who was a benefactor of the minor planet program at the discovering Goethe Link Observatory.[2] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 November 1978 (M.P.C. 4547).[13]
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