| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 30 March 1981 |
| Designations | |
| (3688) Navajo | |
Named after | Navajo people[1] (Native American) |
| 1981 FD | |
| main-belt[1] · (outer)[2] Griqua[3] · background[4] ACO[5] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 36.40yr (13,294 d) |
| Aphelion | 4.7627AU |
| Perihelion | 1.6806 AU |
| 3.2216 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.4783 |
| 5.78 yr (2,112 d) | |
| 148.89° | |
| 0° 10m 13.44s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.5593° |
| 19.974° | |
| 137.91° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.6910 AU (269LD) |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.2392 AU |
| TJupiter | 2.9960 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 6.086±0.051 km[6] | |
| 0.047±0.012[6] | |
| P[5] | |
| 15.1[2] | |
3688 Navajo, provisional designation1981 FD, is aGriqua asteroid and a2:1 Jupiter librator on an eccentric,cometary-like orbit from the outermost regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 30 March 1981, by American astronomerEdward Bowell at theAnderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona.[1] The darkP-type asteroid was named for the Native AmericanNavajo people.
Navajo is an asteroid in acometary orbit (ACO), with no observablecoma but with aTisserand's parameter just below the definedthe threshold of 3.0. ACO's may beextinct comets.[5] It is a member of the small dynamicalGriqua group, a marginally unstable group of asteroids observed in theHecuba gap, a2:1 resonant zone with the gas giantJupiter.[3] The group is named after its largest member,1362 Griqua.
Navajo is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population.[4] It orbits the Sun in theoutermost asteroid belt at a distance of 1.7–4.8 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,112 days;semi-major axis of 3.22 AU). Its orbit has a higheccentricity of 0.48 and aninclination of 3° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken atSiding Spring Observatory, just weeks before its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.[1]
Navajo has been characterized as a dark and primitiveP-type asteroid.[5] It has anabsolute magnitude of 15.1.[2] As of 2018, no rotationallightcurve ofNavajo has been obtained fromphotometric observations. The body'srotation period,pole and shape remain unknown.[2]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Navajo measures 6.086 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.047.[6]
Thisminor planet was named after the indigenous North AmericanNavajo people, inhabitants of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah in theSouthwestern United States. The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 2 April 1988 (M.P.C. 12975).[7]
