| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | R. H. McNaught |
| Discovery site | Siding Spring Obs. |
| Discovery date | 7 May 1991 |
| Designations | |
| (5380) Sprigg | |
Named after | Reg Sprigg (Australian geologist)[2] |
| 1991 JT · 1983 JN 1983 LA1 | |
| main-belt · (middle) [3] background | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 35.92 yr (13,118 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.1229AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0357 AU |
| 2.5793 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2108 |
| 4.14yr (1,513 days) | |
| 102.71° | |
| 0° 14m 16.44s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.3019° |
| 242.31° | |
| 358.90° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 6.606±0.290 km[4][5] 12.75 km(calculated)[3] |
| 3.219±0.002h[6] | |
| 0.057(assumed)[3] 0.280±0.025[4][5] | |
| X [7] · C [3] | |
| 12.9[4] · 13.03±0.32[7] · 13.2[1][3] | |
5380 Sprigg, provisional designation1991 JT, is a backgroundasteroid from the middle regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 7 May 1991, by Australian astronomerRobert McNaught atSiding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia.[8] It was named after Australian geologistReg Sprigg.[2]
Sprigg is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population. It orbits the Sun in thecentral asteroid belt at a distance of 2.0–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,513 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.21 and aninclination of 9° with respect to theecliptic.[1] A firstprecovery was taken atPalomar Observatory in 1980, extending the body'sobservation arc by 11 years prior to its official discovery observation at Siding Spring.[8]
Thisminor planet was named afterReg Sprigg (1919–1994), Australian exploration geologist, oceanographer, biologist, author andconservationist. In 1946, he discovered the pre-CambrianEdiacara biota, an assemblage of some of the most ancient animal fossils known. He is also the founder of theArkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary which also hosts asmall observatory. The naming was proposed by astronomerDuncan Steel.[2] Naming citation was prepared by the Sprigg family and published on 11 April 1998 (M.P.C. 31609).[9]
Sprigg has been classified as anX-type asteroid byPan-STARRS photometric survey.[7]
A rotationallightcurve ofSprigg was obtained from photometric observations by astronomer Maurice Clark atTexas Tech University in October 2013. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 3.219 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.68magnitude, indicating that the body has a non-spheroidal shape (U=3-).[6]
According to the survey carried out by NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Sprigg measures 6.606 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.280,[4][5] while theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo forcarbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a larger diameter of 12.75 kilometers with anabsolute magnitude of 13.2.[3]
