| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Indiana University (Indiana Asteroid Program) |
| Discovery site | Goethe Link Obs. |
| Discovery date | 4 April 1949 |
| Designations | |
| (3070) Aitken | |
Named after | Robert G. Aitken (American astronomer)[2] |
| 1949 GK · 1942 GQ A907 HA | |
| main-belt · Flora[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 74.56 yr (27,232 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7616AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8504 AU |
| 2.3060 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1976 |
| 3.50yr (1,279 days) | |
| 177.01° | |
| 0° 16m 53.4s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.3456° |
| 170.44° | |
| 52.609° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.85 km(calculated)[3] |
| 6.3965±0.0026h[4] | |
| 0.24(assumed)[3] | |
| S[3] | |
| 13.7[1] · 14.27±0.28[5] · 13.789±0.005(R)[4] · 14.24[3] | |
3070 Aitken, provisional designation1949 GK, is a stony Floraasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 4 April 1949, by astronomers of theIndiana Asteroid Program atGoethe Link Observatory in Indiana, United States. The asteroid was named after American astronomerRobert Grant Aitken.[2][6]
Aitken is a member of theFlora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,279 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.20 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
In 1907, the asteroid was first identified asA907 HA at Taunton Observatory (803) in Massachusetts. Aprecovery, taken atTurku Observatory in 1942, extends theAitken'sobservation arc by 7 years prior to its official discovery observation at Goethe Link.[6]
Aitken has been characterized as a stonyS-type asteroid.[3]
In November 2010, rotationallightcurve ofAitken was obtained from photometric observations made at thePalomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of6.3965 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.38magnitude (U=2).[4]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standardalbedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 3.9 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 14.24.[3]
Thisminor planet was named for of American astronomerRobert Grant Aitken (1864–1951), who was the 4th director of theLick Observatory from 1930 to 1935, successor of directorWilliam Campbell, after whom the minor planet2751 Campbell was named.[2]
Aitken became a well known expert ondouble stars and, in 1932, published theNew General Catalogue of Double Stars Within 120° of the North Pole,[7] He is also known for his bookThe Binary Stars that was first published in 1918.[8] He is also honored by the lunar craterAitken.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 21 April 1989 (M.P.C. 14481).[9]
