| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. S. Shoemaker E. M. Shoemaker |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 4 November 1988 |
| Designations | |
| (5175) Ables | |
Named after | Harold Ables (American astronomer)[2] |
| 1988 VS4 · 1990 KH | |
| main-belt · Hungaria[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 62.95 yr (22,993 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.0438AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8908 AU |
| 1.9673 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0389 |
| 2.76yr (1,008 days) | |
| 9.7153° | |
| 0° 21m 25.92s / day | |
| Inclination | 16.847° |
| 234.51° | |
| 313.87° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.29±0.23 km[4] 5.31 km(calculated)[3] 5.697±0.024 km[5] |
| 2.7976±0.0005 h[6] 2.798±0.001 h[7] | |
| 0.2897±0.0604[5] 0.30(assumed)[3] 0.505±0.074[4] | |
| E[3] | |
| 13.3[1][3] · 13.2[5][4] · 13.83±0.37[8] | |
5175 Ables (provisional designation1988 VS4) is a bright Hungariaasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomersCarolyn andEugene Shoemaker at the U.S.Palomar Observatory, California, on 4 November 1988.[9] It was named after American astronomerHarold Ables.[2]
Ables is a member of theHungaria family, which form theinnermost dense concentration of asteroids in theSolar System.
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.0 AU once every 2 years and 9 months (1,008 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.04 and aninclination of 17° with respect to theecliptic.[1] A firstprecovery was obtained at Palomar Observatory in 1954, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 34 years prior to its official discovery observation.[9]
Ables has been characterized as a brightE-type asteroid.[3]
Based on the surveys carried out by the NASA's space-basedWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and its subsequentNEOWISE mission, Ables has analbedo of 0.29 and 0.51, with a corresponding diameter of 5.7 and 4.3 kilometers, respectively,[5][4] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.30 and calculates a diameter of 5.3 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.3.[3]
Between 2010 and 2014, three rotationallightcurves of Ables have been obtained by American astronomerBrian Warner at the Palmer Divide Station (714) in Colorado. The best result gave a shortrotation period of2.798 hours with a brightness variation of 0.10magnitude (U=3).[10][7][6]
Thisminor planet was named after American astronomer Harold D. Ables (born 1938). While director at theUnited States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station (NOFS), he was responsible for the station's transition fromphotographic plates toCCD imaging. The body's name was suggested by theJPL Ephemeris Group and subsequently proposed by the discoverers.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 July 1996(M.P.C. 27459).[11]
