| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 30 January 1982 |
| Designations | |
| (3192) A'Hearn | |
Named after | Michael A'Hearn (astronomer)[2] |
| 1982 BY1 · 1975 JN | |
| main-belt · (inner)[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 41.29 yr (15,081 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7782AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9767 AU |
| 2.3774 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1686 |
| 3.67yr (1,339 days) | |
| 251.29° | |
| 0° 16m 8.04s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.8791° |
| 56.726° | |
| 91.584° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.361±0.700[4] 5.66 km(calculated)[3] |
| 3.160h[5] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[3] 0.354±0.166[4] | |
| SMASS =C[1] · C[3] | |
| 13.6[1][3] | |
3192 A'Hearn, provisional designation1982 BY1, is a carbonaceousasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, about 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomerEdward Bowell at Lowell'sAnderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona, on 30 January 1982.[6]
TheC-type asteroid orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,339 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.17 and aninclination of 3° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The firstprecovery was obtained atEl Leoncito in 1975, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 7 years prior to its discovery.[6]
A rotationallightcurve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations made by Japanese astronomer Sunao Hasegawa, using the 1.05-meter Schmidt telescope atKiso Observatory in March 2004. It showed a well-definedrotation period of 3.16 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.20 inmagnitude (U=3).[5] According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 4.4 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a highalbedo of 0.354.[4] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standardalbedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 – despite the fact that the body has been classified as a carbonaceous C-type – and calculates a diameter of 5.7 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.6.[3]
Thisminor planet was named for Americancometary astronomer and professor of astronomy atCMNS,Michael A'Hearn (1940-2017), known for his contribution to cometary science, especially for his wide-range spectroscopic and spectrophotometric observations. He ledDeep Impact/EPOXI spacecraft mission and participated inIUE mission, which, in 1983, detected for the first time the presence of cometary diatomic sulfur while observingComet IRAS–Araki–Alcock's spectrum.[2][7] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 22 June 1986 (M.P.C. 10848).[8]
