| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. Bowell |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 6 November 1986 |
| Designations | |
| (3953) Perth | |
Named after | Perth Observatory[2] (in West Australia) |
| 1986 VB6 · 1969 TO6 1979 QG8 · 1979 RP1 | |
| main-belt · (inner) Flora[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 46.84 yr (17,109 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.6876AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8342 AU |
| 2.2609 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1887 |
| 3.40yr (1,242 days) | |
| 46.332° | |
| 0° 17m 23.64s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.9507° |
| 129.08° | |
| 237.98° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.18 km(derived)[3] 4.80±0.16 km[5] |
| 5.083±0.005h[6] 5.087±0.0010 h[7] 5.2±0.1 h[8] | |
| 0.24(assumed)[3] 0.335±0.066[5] | |
| S[3] | |
| 13.40[5] · 13.5[1] · 13.712±0.009(R)[7] · 13.81±0.23[9] · 14.06±0.04[3][8][10] | |
3953 Perth, provisional designation1986 VB6, is a stonyFlorianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4.5 kilometers (2.8 mi) in diameter. It was discovered on 6 November 1986, by American astronomerEdward Bowell at theAnderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona.[11] The asteroid was named for the AustralianPerth Observatory.[2]
Perth is a member of theFlora family (402),[4] a giantasteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[12]: 23 It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.7 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,242 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.19 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified as1969 TO6 atCrimea–Nauchnij in October 1969. The body'sobservation arc begins at Nauchnij with its identification as1979 RP1 in October 1979, more than seven years prior to its official discovery observation at Anderson Mesa.[11]
Perth is an assumedS-type asteroid,[3] which corresponds with the overallspectral type of the Flora family.[12]: 23
In February 2008, a rotationallightcurve ofPerth was obtained by a collaboration of astronomers in a photometric survey of the Flora region. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 5.083 hours with a brightness variation of 0.28magnitude (U=2).[6] Other photometric observations at thePalomar Transient Factory in October 2010, and byWiesław Wiśniewski in December 1993, gave a period of 5.087 and 5.2 hours with an amplitude of 0.92 and 1.09, respectively (U=2/2+).[8][7]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Perth measures 4.80 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.335,[5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – taken from8 Flora the Flora family's largest member and namesake – and derives a diameter of 4.18 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 14.06.[3]
Thisminor planet was named after the AustralianPerth Observatory for its many contributions to astronomy including thePerth 70 meridian catalogue, the co-discovery of therings of Uranus, and observational work onComet Halley both in 1910 and 1986. The observatory was founded near the city ofPerth in 1896, and moved toBickley in 1965. The observatory is known for itsastrometry andphotometry onsmall Solar System bodies.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 17 August 1989 (M.P.C. 14972).[13]
