| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 29 March 1955 |
| Designations | |
| (2069) Hubble | |
Named after | Edwin Hubble(astronomer)[2] |
| 1955 FT · 1953 VN1 1969 TB1 · 1970 WA1 1975 TT3 | |
| main-belt · (outer)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 62.22 yr (22,727 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.7484AU |
| Perihelion | 2.5729 AU |
| 3.1606 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1860 |
| 5.62yr (2,052 days) | |
| 81.951° | |
| 0° 10m 31.44s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.1064° |
| 46.406° | |
| 70.185° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 34.44 km(derived)[3] 34.53±2.3 km[4] 38.471±0.151 km[5] 39.54±10.25 km[6] 40.10±0.84 km[7] 40.615±0.281 km[8] 45.82±12.40 km[9] 46.92±16.56 km[10] |
| 32.52±0.02h[11] | |
| 0.024±0.023[10] 0.03±0.01[9] 0.03±0.05[6] 0.0389±0.0095[8] 0.040±0.002[7] 0.0410(derived)[3] 0.043±0.010 0.0538±0.008[4] | |
| C[3] | |
| 11.1[4][7][8] · 11.27±0.20[12] · 11.30[6] · 11.32[10] · 11.4[1][3] · 11.48[9] | |
2069 Hubble, provisional designation1955 FT, is a carbonaceousasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 40 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 March 1955, by theIndiana Asteroid Program atGoethe Link Observatory, United States, and named after American astronomerEdwin Hubble.[2][13]
Hubble orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 7 months (2,052 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.19 and aninclination of 9° with respect to theecliptic.[1] Its first unused observations,1953 VN1, was made at Goethe Link in 1953. The body'sobservation arc begins atNAOJ's Mitaka Campus, 8 days prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.[13]
In January 2005, American astronomerBrian Warner obtained a rotationallightcurve ofHubble fromphotometric observations taken at his Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado. Lightcurve analysis showed an unusual tri-modal lightcurve with arotation period of 32.52 hours and a brightness variation of 0.10 in magnitude.[11][a] While not being aslow rotator,Hubble has a longer than average spin rate, as the vast majority of asteroids rotate between 2.2 and 20 hours once around their axis.
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Hubble measures between 34.53 and 46.92 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo between 0.024 and 0.0538.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link classifies it as a carbonaceousC-type asteroid, derives an albedo of 0.041 and a shorter diameter of 34.44 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 11.4.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after the famous American astronomerEdwin Hubble (1889–1953). He pioneered in the exploration of the Universe beyond the Milky Way galaxy and established a self-consistent distance scale as far as the 100-inchHooker Telescope atMount Wilson Observatory could reach.Hubble's law and the discovery of the expanding Universe were his greatest achievements. His classification scheme for galaxies, theHubble sequence, is still the standard and often called theHubble tuning-fork. Hubble also discovered the minor planet1373 Cincinnati, his only asteroid discovery. The lunar craterHubble is also named after him.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 20 December 1983 (M.P.C. 8403).[14]
