_Debussy.png) Shape model of Debussy from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. W. Elst |
| Discovery site | Haute-Provence Obs. |
| Discovery date | 17 September 1988 |
| Designations | |
| (4492) Debussy | |
| Pronunciation | /dɛbjʊˈsiː/etc.[2] |
Named after | Claude Debussy[3] (French composer) |
| 1988 SH · 1979 SZ10 1979 VF1 · 1981 EC | |
| main-belt · (middle) background[4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 65.65 yr (23,977 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.2631AU |
| Perihelion | 2.2692 AU |
| 2.7662 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1796 |
| 4.60yr (1,680 days) | |
| 76.633° | |
| 0° 12m 51.12s / day | |
| Inclination | 8.0241° |
| 350.05° | |
| 52.507° | |
| Knownsatellites | 1[5][6][7] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 13.23±3.97 km[8] 14.64 km(calculated)[9] 14.75±0.91 km[10] 16.5±1.9 km[11] 17.14±2.94 km[12] 17.359±0.697 km[13][14] | |
| 20 h[15] 26.58±0.05 h[15] 26.59 h[5] 26.6 h[11] 26.606±0.001 h[6] | |
| 0.039±0.018[11] 0.0406±0.0162[13][14] 0.041±0.016 0.046±0.017[12] 0.057(assumed)[9] 0.058±0.008[10] 0.07±0.08[8] | |
| C[9] | |
| 12.80[12] · 12.9[1][9][10][13] · 13.05[8] · 13.05±0.07[11] · 13.37±0.25[16] | |
4492 Debussy (provisional designation:1988 SH) is a dark and elongatedbackground asteroid andbinary system from the intermediateasteroid belt, approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 17 September 1988, by Belgian astronomerEric Elst atHaute-Provence Observatory in France. It was later named after French composerClaude Debussy.[3]
Debussy is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population.[4] It orbits the Sun in themiddle main-belt at a distance of 2.3–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 7 months (1,680 days;semi-major axis of 2.77 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.18 and aninclination of 8° with respect to theecliptic.[1] A firstprecovery was taken atPalomar Observatory in 1951, extending the body'sobservation arc by 37 years prior to its official discovery observation.[3]
Thisminor planet was named in memory of French composerClaude Debussy (1862–1918), one of the most prominent figures associated withimpressionist music, best known for hisClair de lune andFeux d'artifice, as well as for his piano suitesEstampes (1903),Bergamasque (1890–1905) and Images (1905). He was a fervent admirer ofFrédéric Chopin, after whom the asteroid3784 Chopin was named.[3] The official naming citation was published on 4 October 1990 (M.P.C. 17031).[17]
According to the surveys carried out by the JapaneseAkari satellite, theInfrared Spectrograph of theSpitzer Space Telescope, and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, Debussy measures between 13.23 and 17.359 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo between 0.039 and 0.07.[8][10][11][12][13][14] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo forcarbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 14.64 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 12.9.[9]
Between 2002 and 2016, a large number of rotationallightcurve of Debussy were obtained from photometric observations by predominantly Swiss, French and German astronomers. Best rated lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 26.606 hours with a brightness variation of 1.04–1.13magnitude, which indicates that the body is highly elongated (U=3/3).[5][6][15]
In November 2002, during the first photometric observations by Swiss astronomerRaoul Behrend atGeneva Observatory in collaboration with several other European astronomers, it was revealed that Debussy is a synchronousbinary system with aminor-planet moon in orbit (F-type binary). The satellite'sorbital period is 26.606 hours, identical to the primary's rotation. The system's secondary-to-primary mean-diameter ratio is 0.643.[6] The Johnston archive derives a diameter of 9.39 kilometers for the moon, and estimates that it has asemi-major axis of approximately 31 kilometers.[7] After additional follow-up observations had been made, the discovery was announced on 21 March 2004.[6] The collaboration of astronomers from 26 observatories also discovered satellites in orbit of the main-belt asteroids854 Frostia,1089 Tama and1313 Berna.[6]
