| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | G. van Biesbroeck |
| Discovery site | Yerkes Obs. |
| Discovery date | 30 July 1932 |
| Designations | |
| (2253) Espinette | |
Named after | Espinette (discoverer's residence)[2] |
| 1932 PB · 1939 RJ 1953 VB1 · 1970 PM 1977 TG | |
| Mars-crosser[1][3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 84.74 yr (30,953 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9195AU |
| Perihelion | 1.6477 AU |
| 2.2836 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2785 |
| 3.45yr (1,260 days) | |
| 228.40° | |
| 0° 17m 8.16s / day | |
| Inclination | 3.8804° |
| 143.96° | |
| 175.75° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.03 km(derived)[4] |
| 7.3±0.2h[5] 7.440±0.002 h[6] 7.442±0.001[7] 7.442±0.002 h[a] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[4] | |
| SMASS = Sl[1] · S[4] | |
| 12.8[1] · 13.13±0.12[4][5][8] · 16.06±0.31[9] | |
2253 Espinette, provisional designation1932 PB, is a stonyasteroid and sizableMars-crosser from the innermost regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. Discovered byGeorge Van Biesbroeck in 1932, the asteroid was named after the discoverer's residence "Espinette".
Espinette was discovered on 30 July 1932, by Belgian–American astronomerGeorge Van Biesbroeck at the U.S.Yerkes Observatory, Wisconsin.[3] The body was independently discovered on the following night by English-born South-African astronomerCyril Jackson at Johannesburg, and by Soviet–Russian astronomerGrigory Neujmin atSimeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula, on August 4.[2] Noprecoveries were taken. The asteroid'sobservation arc begins a few days after its official discovering observation.[3]
The asteroid orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.6–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,260 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.28 and aninclination of 4° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
In theSMASS taxonomic scheme,Espinette is classified as a Sl-subtype, which transitions from the commonS-type asteroids to the much redderL-type asteroids.[1]
Several rotationallightcurves ofEspinette have been obtained. In April 2011, photometric observations by American astronomerBrian A. Skiff rendered a well-definedrotation period of7.442±0.002 hours with a brightness variation of 0.25magnitude (U=3).[a]
In August 2015, another observation byRobert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies (U81), California, gave an identical period of7.442±0.001 with an amplitude of 0.44 magnitude (U=3).[7] Previous observations by Polish astronomerWiesław Z. Wiśniewski in 1987, and by Italian Federico Manzini in 2005, rendered similar results (U=2/2).[5][6]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standardalbedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 7.0 kilometers.[4]
Thisminor planet was named "Espinette" after the discoverer's U.S. home inWilliams Bay, Wisconsin, located near the discovering Yerkes Observatory. At their home, the Van Biesbroecks accommodated visitors of the observatory from all over the world. The name "Espinette" was proposed by the discoverer's children, and it refers to a coffeehouse in Belgium.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 June 1981 (M.P.C. 6059).[10]
