 Orbit ofKirkpatrick (blue), with theinner planets andJupiter (outermost) | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | P. G. Comba |
| Discovery site | Prescott Obs. |
| Discovery date | 3 July 1997 |
| Designations | |
| (9902) Kirkpatrick | |
Named after | Ralph Kirkpatrick (musician, musicologist)[2] |
| 1997 NY · 1988 XS4 1994 RK29 · 1996 EJ16 | |
| main-belt[1][3] · (inner) Flora | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 28.48 yr (10,401 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.3935AU |
| Perihelion | 2.0276 AU |
| 2.2105 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0828 |
| 3.29yr (1,200 days) | |
| 254.92° | |
| 0° 17m 59.64s / day | |
| Inclination | 5.3167° |
| 274.37° | |
| 176.19° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.611±0.166 km[4] 17.8 km[5] |
| 0.179±0.022[4] | |
| 14.4[1] | |
9902 Kirkpatrick, provisional designation1997 NY, is a Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 3 July 1997, by American amateur astronomerPaul Comba atPrescott Observatory in Arizona, United States, and named after American musicianRalph Kirkpatrick.[3]
Kirkpatrick is a member of theFlora family. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 2.0–2.4 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,200 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.08 and aninclination of 5° with respect to theecliptic.[1] It was first identified as1988 XS4 atEl Leoncito in 1988, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 9 years prior to its official discovery at Prescott.[3]
As of 2017, the asteroid'srotation period and shape remain unknown.[6]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Kirkpatrick measures 17.8 and 3.611 kilometers in diameter, respectively.[4][5] WISE/NEOWISE also gives analbedo of 0.179 for the body's surface.[4] It has anabsolute magnitude of 14.4.[1]
Thisminor planet was named afterRalph Kirkpatrick (1911–1984), an American musician, musicologist andharpsichordist. He has written a biography ofDomenico Scarlatti and published a chronological catalog of his keyboard sonatas(also see6480 Scarlatti). Kirkpatrick studied 17th and 18th century performance practices inchamber music and gave concerts playing the works by Scarlatti and Bach(also see1814 Bach).[2] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 2 April 1999 (M.P.C. 34356).[7]
