| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | N. G. Thomas |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 6 February 1981 |
| Designations | |
| (3352) McAuliffe | |
| Pronunciation | /məˈkɔːlɪf/ |
Named after | Christa McAuliffe (Challenger crew member)[2] |
| 1981 CW | |
| NEO · Amor[1][3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 36.34 yr (13,275 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.5725AU |
| Perihelion | 1.1855 AU |
| 1.8790 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3691 |
| 2.58yr (941 days) | |
| 73.070° | |
| 0° 22m 57.72s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.7727° |
| 107.37° | |
| 15.941° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.2041 AU · 79.5LD |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1.99 km(derived)[4] |
| 2.2060±0.0003h[5] 2.2062±0.0002 h[a] 2.207±0.002 h[6] 2.212±0.002 h[b] 6 h(dated)[c] | |
| 0.18(assumed)[4] | |
| SMASS =A[1] SQ[7] · A[4] | |
| 15.54±0.1(R)[c] · 15.8[1] · 16.00±0.18[7] · 16.068±0.112[4][8] | |
3352 McAuliffe (/məˈkɔːlɪf/), provisional designation1981 CW, is a rare-typeasteroid and suspectedbinary system, classified asnear-Earth object of theAmor group, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 February 1981, by American astronomerNorman Thomas at Lowell'sAnderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona, United States.[3]
Originally, this asteroid was the target of the 1998Deep Space 1 mission, but that mission was eventually rerouted to9969 Braille.[9] It was named in memory of Challenger crew memberChrista McAuliffe.[2]
McAuliffe orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.2–2.6 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (941 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.37 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
It has anEarthminimum orbital intersection distance of 0.2041 AU (30,500,000 km), which translates into 79.5lunar distances.[1] Due to its eccentric orbit, McAuliffe is also aMars-crosser. As noprecoveries were taken, and no prior identifications were made, the body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa in 1981.[3]
In theSMASS taxonomy, McAuliffe is a rareA-type asteroid, meaning that it is rich inolivine.[1] In addition, the large-scale survey conducted byPanSTARRS also classified as a SQ-type, a transitional type between the common stony andQ-type asteroids, indicating the presence ofpyroxene minerals.[7]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes analbedo of 0.18 and derives a diameter of 1.99 kilometers,[4] based on anabsolute magnitude of 16.068, a figure previously obtained by theWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, and later revised by Czech astronomerPetr Pravec.[8]
Between 1998 and 2016, several rotationallightcurves of McAuliffe were obtained from photometric observations taken by astronomers Petr Pravec atOndřejov Observatory, Czech Republic, by Andreas Howell at Willowcroft Observatory, Florida, as well as byBrian Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory, Colorado, and at the Center for Solar System Studies, California. The best-rated lightcurve gave arotation period of 2.206 to 2.212 hours with a brightness variation between 0.08 and 0.12magnitude (U=3/3/2+/3-).[c][5][6][b][a]
During the photometric observations in March 2012, Brian Warner found evidence of the existence of aminor-planet moon orbiting McAuliffe every 20.86 hours. However, it is only a "possible" synchronousbinary system, as no mutual eclipsing/occultation events were observed.[5] Follow-up observations in September and October 2016, did not confirm the binary nature of McAuliffe.[4][b][a]
McAuliffe, together with comet76P/West–Kohoutek–Ikemura, were the original fly-by targets for theDeep Space 1 (DS1) mission. Launch was scheduled for 1 July 1998. A delay in the delivery of the spacecraft's power electronics system as well as insufficient time to test the flight software caused the launch to be postponed to 24 October 1998. Due to this delay, new targets had to be selected.[9]
In July 1999, DS1 passed the alternative target9969 Braille at a distance of 15 kilometers. In January 2001, comet107P/Wilson–Harrington was encountered, and in September 2001, short-period comet19P/Borrelly was passed at distance of only 2,200 kilometers.[9]
Thisminor planet was named in memory ofChrista McAuliffe (1948–1986), teacher, civilian astronaut and one of the seven crew members who died in theSpace Shuttle Challenger disaster on 28 January 1986.[2] The minor planets3350 Scobee,3351 Smith,3353 Jarvis,3354 McNair,3355 Onizuka, and3356 Resnik were named for the other crew members of the ill-fatedSTS-51-L mission. The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 26 March 1986 (M.P.C. 10550).[10]
