| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 8 August 1983 |
| Designations | |
| (3737) Beckman | |
Named after | Arnold Orville Beckman (American chemist)[1] |
| 1983 PA | |
| Mars crosser[1][2][3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 34.78yr (12,703 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.3603AU |
| Perihelion | 1.4512 AU |
| 2.4057 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3968 |
| 3.73 yr (1,363 d) | |
| 179.54° | |
| 0° 15m 50.76s / day | |
| Inclination | 20.133° |
| 288.19° | |
| 85.509° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.609 AU (237LD) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 6.968±1.409 km[4][5] 14.36±2.87 km[6] | |
| 3.124 h[7] | |
| 0.094[6] 0.29[4][5] | |
| SMASS =S[2][8] B–V = 0.839[2] U–B = 0.406[2] | |
| 12.30[4][5] 12.40[2][6] 12.88[3][7] | |
3737 Beckman, provisional designation1983 PA, is a stonyasteroid and sizableMars-crosser on an eccentric orbit from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 8 August 1983, by American astronomerEleanor Helin at thePalomar Observatory in California.[1] TheS-type asteroid has arotation period of 3.1 hours. It was named for American ChemistArnold Beckman.[1]
Beckman is a member of theMars-crossing asteroids, a dynamically unstablegroup between themain belt and thenear-Earth populations, crossing the orbit ofMars at 1.66 AU.[1] It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.5–3.4 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,363 days;semi-major axis of 2.41 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.40 and aninclination of 20° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The body'sobservation arc begins with its official discovery observation atPalomar in August 1983.[1]
Thisminor planet was named afterArnold Orville Beckman (1900–2004), an American chemist and inventor of the first (potentiometric)pH meter.[1] The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 17 August 1989 (M.P.C. 14971).[9]
In theSMASS classification,Beckman is a common, stonyS-type asteroid, the most common type in the innermost region of theSolar System.[2][8]
A rotationallightcurve ofBeckman was obtained fromphotometric observations by Polish astronomerWiesław Wiśniewski during 1986–1987. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of3.124 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.16magnitude (U=3).[7]
Observations by Daniel Klinglesmith at Etscorn Campus Observatory (719) in November 2013, gave a period of 3.130 hours and an amplitude of 0.27 magnitude (U=3-).[10] Serbian astronomer Vladimir Benishek at theBelgrade Astronomical Observatory measured a period of 3.125 hours in December 2017 (U=3-),[11] and in March 2018,Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies (U81) in California determined a period of 3.113 (U=2).[12][a]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Beckman measures 6.97 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.29.[4][5] However, a 2017-WISE-study dedicated to Mars-crossing asteroids gave larger diameter of 14.36 kilometers due to a much lower albedo of 0.094.[6] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and derives a diameter of 7.89 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.88.[3]
With an averaged diameter of 10 kilometers,Beckman is one of several "sizable"Mars-crossing asteroids such as3581 Alvarez (13.69 km)1065 Amundsenia (9.75 km),1139 Atami (9.35 km),1474 Beira (15.46 km),1011 Laodamia (7.39 km),1727 Mette (5.44 km),1131 Porzia (7.13 km),1235 Schorria (5.55 km),985 Rosina (8.18 km),1310 Villigera (15.24 km), and1468 Zomba (7 km), which are smaller than the largest members of this dynamical group, namely,132 Aethra,323 Brucia (former Mars-crosser),1508 Kemi,2204 Lyyli and512 Taurinensis, all larger than 20 kilometers.
