| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. T. Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 16 October 1977 |
| Designations | |
| (3936) Elst | |
Named after | Eric W. Elst(Belgian astronomer)[2] |
| 2321 T-3 · 1972 GY 1973 TC · 1976 JG1 1980 MB · 1981 WA2 1984 MT · 1985 WS | |
| main-belt · Vestian[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 45.05 yr (16,455 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.7424AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1139 AU |
| 2.4281 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1294 |
| 3.78yr (1,382 days) | |
| 282.61° | |
| 0° 15m 37.8s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.6458° |
| 240.74° | |
| 38.474° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.593±0.073 km[4] 4.939±0.048 km[5] 7.46 km(calculated)[3] |
| 6.6322±0.0002h[a] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[3] 0.4607±0.0712[5] 0.509±0.096[4] | |
| S[3] | |
| 13.0[1][3][5] · 13.36±0.24[6] | |
3936 Elst, provisional designation2321 T-3, is a stony Vestianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 16 October 1977, by Dutch astronomer coupleIngrid andCornelis van Houten at Leiden, on photographic plates taken by Dutch–American astronomerTom Gehrels atPalomar Observatory in California, United States.[7] It was named after Belgian astronomerEric W. Elst.[2]
Elst is a stonyS-type asteroid and member of theVesta family. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.1–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,382 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.13 and aninclination of 6° with respect to theecliptic.[1] It was first identified as1972 GY and1973 TC atCrimea–Nauchnij, extending the body'sobservation arc by 4 years prior to its official discovery observation at Palomar.[7]
In August 2007, a rotationallightcurve ofElst was obtained from photometric observations by Czech astronomerPetr Pravec atOndřejov Observatory. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 6.6322 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.13magnitude (U=3).[a]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Elst measures 4.593 and 4.939 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.4607 and 0.509, respectively,[5][4] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and consequently calculates a larger diameter of 7.46 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 13.0.[3]
Thesurvey designation "T-3" stands for the thirdPalomar–Leiden Trojan survey, named after the fruitful collaboration of the Palomar andLeiden Observatory conducted in 1977. Gehrels used Palomar'sSamuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped thephotographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory whereastrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery of several thousand minor planets.[8]
Thisminor planet was named in honor of Belgian astronomerEric Walter Elst, one of the world's topdiscoverer of minor planets atUccle Observatory in Belgium.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 28 April 1991 (M.P.C. 18138).[9]
