| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | A. Kopff |
| Discovery site | Heidelberg Obs. |
| Discovery date | 7 October 1908 |
| Designations | |
| (3687) Dzus | |
Named after | Paul K. Dzus (MPC volunteer)[2] |
| A908 TC · 1952 HM3 1970 GD2 · 1980 TO8 1980 TX · 1984 NC | |
| main-belt · (middle) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 108.33 yr (39,567 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2735AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1814 AU |
| 2.7275 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2002 |
| 4.50yr (1,645 days) | |
| 84.307° | |
| 0° 13m 7.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 15.798° |
| 224.89° | |
| 113.79° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 28.61±2.2 km[3] 30.932±0.250 km[4] 32.36±0.40 km[5] 34.481±0.343 km[6] |
| 7.44±0.01h[7] | |
| 0.0373±0.0070[6] 0.043±0.001[5] 0.046±0.005[4] 0.0542±0.009[3] | |
| SMASS = Ch[1] · C[8] | |
| 11.4[1] · 11.5[3][5][6][8] · 11.57±0.19[9] | |
3687 Dzus, provisional designationA908 TC, is a carbonaceousasteroid from the central region of theasteroid belt, approximately 31 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomerAugust Kopff atHeidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory on 7 October 1908.[10]
Dzus orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.2–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 6 months (1,645 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.20 and aninclination of 16° with respect to theecliptic.[1] As noprecoveries were taken, the asteroid'sobservation arc begins with its discovery observation in 1908.[10]
TheC-type asteroid is characterized as a Ch subtype in theSMASS classification.[1]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS, the JapaneseAkari satellite, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Dzus measures between 28.6 and 34.5 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.038 and 0.054.[3][4][5][6] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees with the results obtained by IRAS; that is an albedo of 0.038 and a diameter of 28.6 kilometers, based on an absolutemagnitude of 11.5.[8]
A fragmentarylightcurve ofDzus was obtained from photometric observations made byRobert Stephens at the Santana Observatory (646) in Rancho Cucamonga, California, during April to June 2002. It showed arotation period of7.44±0.01 hours with a brightness variation of0.25±0.04 in magnitude during each rotation (U=1).[7]
Thisminor planet was named byBrian Geoffrey Marsden, long-time director of theMinor Planet Center (MPC), in honor ofPaul K. Dzus (b. 1969) in appreciation of his helpful assistance since October 1987, much of the time as a volunteer.[2] The official naming citation was published by the MPC on 23 December 1988 (M.P.C. 14029).[11]
