| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Spacewatch |
| Discovery site | Kitt Peak Obs. |
| Discovery date | 12 January 1996 |
| Designations | |
| (9423) Abt | |
Named after | Helmut Abt (American astrophysicist)[2] |
| 1996 AT7 · 1974 DU 1981 US15 · 1983 CK8 1990 VH15 · 1992 DP2 | |
| main-belt · (middle)[3] background | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 42.95 yr (15,686 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9681AU |
| Perihelion | 2.4182 AU |
| 2.6932 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1021 |
| 4.42yr (1,614 days) | |
| 114.30° | |
| 0° 13m 22.8s / day | |
| Inclination | 8.8476° |
| 106.16° | |
| 219.27° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 12.690±0.145 km[4][5] 12.84±0.86 km[6] 13.29 km(calculated)[3] |
| 3.2766±0.0003 h[7] 3.281±0.005h[8] | |
| 0.10(assumed)[3] 0.132±0.012[4][5] 0.141±0.020[6] | |
| S[3] | |
| 12.5[1][3] · 12.20[6] · 12.3[4] · 12.516±0.003(R)[7] · 12.15±0.31[9] | |
9423 Abt, provisional designation1996 AT7, is a stony backgroundasteroid from the central region of theasteroid belt, approximately 13 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 12 January 1996, by theSpacewatch project of the University of Arizona atKitt Peak National Observatory, United States.[10] The asteroid was named after American astronomerHelmut Abt.
Abt is a non-family asteroid from the main belt'sbackground population. It orbits the Sun in thecentral main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 5 months (1,614 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.10 and aninclination of 9° with respect to theecliptic.[1] It was first identified as1974 DU atCrimea-Nauchnij in February 1974, extending the body'sobservation arc by 22 years prior to its official discovery observation at Kitt Peak.[10]
Thisminor planet was named after American astrophysicistHelmut Abt (born 1925), one of the founders of the discovering Kitt Peak National Observatory, after which the minor planet2322 Kitt Peak is named. His research includedstellar properties andsystems. As senior editor ofThe Astrophysical Journal he was responsible for converting it into its digital format.[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 11 November 2000(M.P.C. 41568).[11]
In 2006, a rotationallightcurve ofAbt was obtained from photometric observation at Hunters Hill Observatory, Australia. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of3.281 hours with a brightness variation of 0.30magnitude (U=3).[8]
In 2012, a second lightcurve from thePalomar Transient Factory, California, gave a concurring period of3.2766 hours with an amplitude of 0.33 magnitude (U=2).[7]
According to the surveys carried out by theNEOWISE mission of the NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the JapaneseAkari satellite,Abt measures 12.690 and 12.84 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo of 0.132 and 0.141, respectively.[4][5][6]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link calculates a diameter of 13.29 kilometers, assuming an albedo of 0.10, a compromise figure between the brighterstony and darkercarbonaceous bodies from the inner and outer asteroid-belt, respectively.[3]
