_Royer.png) Shape model of Royer from itslightcurve | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 6 February 1989 |
| Designations | |
| (5208) Royer | |
Named after | Msgr Ronald E. Royer[1] (American priest and amateur astronomer) |
| 1989 CH1 | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (middle) Maria[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 64.29yr (23,481 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.7241AU |
| Perihelion | 2.4844 AU |
| 2.6042 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0460 |
| 4.20 yr (1,535 d) | |
| 345.72° | |
| 0° 14m 4.2s / day | |
| Inclination | 15.904° |
| 124.56° | |
| 21.407° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 7.884±0.150 km[4] 8.081±0.121 km[5] 9.40 km(calculated)[6] | |
| 3.866 h[7] 3.88494±0.00005 h[8] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[6] 0.270±0.059[5] 0.2854±0.0197[4] | |
| SMASS =S[2][6] | |
| 12.5[4][6] 12.6[2] | |
5208 Royer (prov. designation:1989 CH1) is a stony Marianasteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers (5 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 6 February 1989, by astronomerEleanor Helin at thePalomar Observatory. TheS-type asteroid has arotation period of 3.87 hours and was named after American priest and amateur astronomer,Ronald Royer.[1][6]
Royer is a member of theMaria family (506),[3] a largefamily of stony asteroids with nearly 3,000 known members.[9]: 23
It orbits the Sun in thecentral asteroid belt at a distance of 2.5–2.7 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,535 days;semi-major axis of 2.6 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.05 and aninclination of 16° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken at Palomar Observatory in November 1953, more than 35 years prior to its official discovery observation.[1]
Thisminor planet was named afterReverend Ronald E. Royer, an American priest as well as amateur astronomer andastrophotographer.[1] He has been a member of theLos Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS) since 1946 and received theG. Bruce Blair Award in 2001.[10] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 6 April 1993 (M.P.C. 21957).[11]
In theSMASS classification, Royer is a common, stonyS-type asteroid.[2][6]
In 2004, a rotationallightcurve of Royer was obtained fromphotometric observations by Brazilian and Argentine astronomers. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 3.866 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.44magnitude (U=2).[7] In 2016, a modeled lightcurves using photometric data from various sources, rendered a sidereal period of 3.88494 and twospin axes of (258.0°, 74.0°) and (54.0°, 37.0°) inecliptic coordinates.[8]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Royer measures 7.884 and 8.081 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.2854 and 0.270, respectively,[4][5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 9.40 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.5.[6]
