| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 17 July 1980 |
| Designations | |
| (2554) Skiff | |
Named after | Brian Skiff[1] (American astronomer) |
| 1980 OB · 1931 AB 1970 RE · 1976 GK8 1976 HV | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (inner) Flora[3][4] · Levin[5][6] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 64.13yr (23,423 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.5915AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9355 AU |
| 2.2635 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1449 |
| 3.41 yr (1,244 d) | |
| 57.298° | |
| 0° 17m 21.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.8597° |
| 296.38° | |
| 333.74° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 6.005±0.052 km[7] 6.23±1.03 km[8] 6.283±0.049 km[9] 7.82 km(calculated)[4] 8.56±0.57 km[10] | |
| 25.6±0.5 h[11] | |
| 0.153±0.022[10] 0.24(assumed)[4] 0.334±0.139[8] 0.4489±0.0796[9] | |
| S(assumed)[4] | |
| 12.5[9] 12.51±0.31[12] 12.70[2][4][8] 13.00[10] | |
2554 Skiff, provisional designation1980 OB, is a Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 17 July 1980, by American astronomerEdward Bowell at Lowell'sAnderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona.[1] The presumedS-type asteroid has arotation period of 25.6 hours and was named after astronomerBrian Skiff.[1]
Skiff is a member of theFlora family (402),[3][4] a giantasteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[13]: 23 Based on an alternativeHCM-classification, the Asteroid Dynamic Site groups this asteroid to the core members of the Levin family, a proposed Florian subfamily of 1145 bodies which is named after its parent body2076 Levin.[5][6]: 22
It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,244 days;semi-major axis of 2.26 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.14 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The asteroid was first observed as1931 AB atHeidelberg Observatory in January 1931. The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken atPalomar Observatory in June 1953, more than 27 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.[1]
Skiff is an assumed stonyS-type asteroid,[4] which is also the overallspectral type of the Flora family.[13]
In August 2014, a rotationallightcurve ofSkiff was obtained from photometric observations by Italian astronomers at the Franco Fuligni Observatory near Rome. It gave a provisionalrotation period of25.6 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.32 inmagnitude (U=1).[11]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Skiff measures between 6.005 and 8.56 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.153 and 0.4489.[7][8][9][10]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the Flora family's parent body – and calculates a diameter of 7.82 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.7.[4]
Thisminor planet was named in honor of American astronomerBrian Skiff, discoverer more than 50 asteroids. He significantly contributed to Lowell's asteroidastrometry program, including the rediscovery of the 800-meterpotentially hazardous object69230 Hermes, a long-lost asteroid.[1] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 8 April 1982 (M.P.C. 6834).[14]
