| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. Wild |
| Discovery site | Zimmerwald Obs. |
| Discovery date | 25 October 1973 |
| Designations | |
| (2037) Tripaxeptalis | |
Named after | Tripaxeptalis(fantasy name) (3 ×679 Pax = 7 ×291 Alice)[2] |
| 1973 UB · A917 SN | |
| main-belt · Flora[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 43.52 yr (15,894 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6046AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9996 AU |
| 2.3021 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1314 |
| 3.49yr (1,276 days) | |
| 235.93° | |
| 0° 16m 55.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.2509° |
| 9.5018° | |
| 346.18° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 5.956±0.213 km[4][5] 6.21 km(calculated)[3] |
| 2.33±0.01h[6] | |
| 0.198±0.032[4][5] 0.24(assumed)[3] | |
| S[3] | |
| 13.2[1][3] · 13.44±0.12[7] · 13.5[4] | |
2037 Tripaxeptalis, provisional designation1973 UB, is a stony Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 25 October 1973, by Swiss astronomerPaul Wild atZimmerwald Observatory near Bern, Switzerland.[8] The asteroid's constructed name "Tripaxeptalis" derives from a numbers game with the asteroids679 Pax and291 Alice.[2]
Tripaxeptalis is a member of theFlora family, one of the largest collisional populations ofstony asteroids. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,276 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.13 and aninclination of 4° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
In September 1917, the asteroid was first identified asA917 SN atSimeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula. The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Zimmerwald.[8]
In January 2006, a rotationallightcurve ofTripaxeptalis was obtained from photometric observations by astronomerAdrián Galád atModra Observatory in Slovakia. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 2.33 hours with a brightness variation of 0.10magnitude (U=2). The ambiguous lightcurve gave an alternative period solution of 2.23 hours and an amplitude of 0.10.[6]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Tripaxeptalis measures 5.956 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.198.[4][5] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of its family – and calculates a diameter of 6.21 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 13.2.[3]
Thisminor planet's constructed name "Tripaxeptalis" (tri–Pax–hepta–Alice) refers to the fact that its number, 2037, matches 3 ×679 Pax as well as 7 ×291 Alice.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 June 1980 (M.P.C. 5359).[9]
