| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Pises Obs. |
| Discovery site | Pises Obs. |
| Discovery date | 29 December 1997 |
| Designations | |
| (31192) Aigoual | |
Named after | Mont Aigoual (French mountain)[2] |
| 1997 YH16 · 1978 UB4 1994 CG10 · 1996 RW26 2001 QS93 | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] Xizang[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 38.50 yr (14,063 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2655AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2442 AU |
| 2.7549 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1854 |
| 4.57yr (1,670 days) | |
| 224.26° | |
| 0° 12m 56.16s / day | |
| Inclination | 3.4534° |
| 65.575° | |
| 278.23° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.34 km(calculated)[3] |
| 4.3291±0.0009h[5] | |
| 0.057(assumed)[3] | |
| C(assumed)[3] | |
| 13.9[1] · 13.948±0.003(R)[5] · 14.00±0.24[6] · 14.4[3] | |
31192 Aigoual (provisional designation1997 YH16) is a Xizangasteroid from the central region of theasteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 December 1997, by staff members of thePises Observatory in southern France.[7] The asteroid was named afterMont Aigoual in France.[2]
Aigoual is a member of the smallXizang family (536),[4] named after2344 Xizang.[8] It orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,670 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.19 and aninclination of 3° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The asteroid was first identified as1978 UB4 atPalomar Observatory in 1978, extending the body'sobservation arc by 19 years prior to its official discovery observation.[7]
Aigoual is an assumed carbonaceousC-type asteroid,[3] while the overallspectral type of the Xizang family has not yet been evaluated.[8]: 23
In October 2010, a rotationallightcurve of Aigoual was obtained from photometric observations made by astronomers at thePalomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of4.3291 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.56magnitude (U=2).[5]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a carbonaceous asteroid of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 7.3 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 14.4.[3]
Thisminor planet was named afterMont Aigoual, in theCévennes National Park, where the discovering observatory is located. It is the highest mountain of the Cévennes in theMassif Central, France.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 28 March 2002 (M.P.C. 45237).[9]
