| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 30 August 1981 |
| Designations | |
| (2730) Barks | |
Named after | Carl Barks (American cartoonist)[2] |
| 1981 QH · 1935 FQ 1935 HC · 1963 SP 1972 TJ5 · 1975 EM1 | |
| main-belt · (middle) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 62.77 yr (22,925 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.0741AU |
| Perihelion | 2.3683 AU |
| 2.7212 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1297 |
| 4.49yr (1,640 days) | |
| 70.617° | |
| 0° 13m 10.56s / day | |
| Inclination | 6.4294° |
| 4.6736° | |
| 273.09° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 9.87±0.82 km[3] 14.97±0.50 km[4] 15.830±0.120[5][6] 24.30 km(calculated)[7] |
| 6.084±0.002h[8] 6.087±0.0016 h[9] | |
| 0.057(assumed)[7] 0.162±0.020}[6][5] 0.196±0.015[4] 0.415±0.067[3] | |
| SMASS =C[1] · C[7] | |
| 11.31±0.87[10] · 11.6[3][4][6] · 11.643±0.003(R)[9] · 11.7[1] · 11.8[7] | |
2730 Barks, provisional designation1981 QH, is a carbonaceousasteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 August 1981, by American astronomerEdward Bowell atAnderson Mesa Station, Arizona, United States.[11] The asteroid was named after comic-book illustratorCarl Barks.[2]
Barks orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 6 months (1,640 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.13 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
It was first identified as1935 FQ atJohannesburg Observatory in 1935. The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken atPalomar Observatory in 1954, or 27 years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.[11]
In theSMASS taxonomy,Barks is characterized as a carbonaceousC-type asteroid.[1]
In August 2012, a rotationallightcurve ofBarks was obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at the Oakley Southern Sky Observatory (E09) in Australia. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 6.084 hours with a brightness variation of 0.26magnitude (U=3).[8] This concurs with observations taken at thePalomar Transient Factory in January 2011, which gave a period of 6.087 hours and an amplitude of 0.28 magnitude (U=2).[9]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Barks measures between 9.87 and 15.830 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.162 and 0.415.[3][4][5][6]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 24.30 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 11.8.[7]
Thisminor planet was named for American cartoonistCarl Barks (1901–2000), best known for the fictional characterScrooge McDuck he created while working at Walt Disney in the late 1940s. In many of his stories, he described space exploration and adventure. Barks was one of the first to use the term "rubble pile asteroid".[2]
Peter Thomas, an assistant ofCornell University, proposed the idea of naming an asteroid after Barks. The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 28 January 1983 (M.P.C. 7621).[12] A week later, Thomas informed Barks by mail about his initiative.[13]
