12374 Rakhat

12374 Rakhat
Discovery [1]
Discovered by C. P. de Saint-Aignan
Discovery site Palomar Obs.
Discovery date 15 May 1994
Designations
MPC designation 12374 Rakhat
Named after
 fictional planet
(novel The Sparrow)[2]
1994 JG9 · 1958 TP
1974 OP · 1978 NV2
main-belt · (middle)
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 61.96 yr (22,632 days)
Aphelion 3.3334 AU
Perihelion 1.7667 AU
2.5500 AU
Eccentricity 0.3072
4.07 yr (1,487 days)
148.81°
0° 14m 31.2s / day
Inclination 8.9862°
123.46°
201.96°
Earth MOID 0.7584 AU
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 4.38 km (calculated)[3]
4.570±0.034 km[4][5]
18.1702±0.0205 h[6]
0.20 (assumed)[3]
0.212±0.030[4][5]
S [3]
13.707±0.005 (R)[6] · 13.8[1] · 14.0[4] · 14.16[3] · 14.60±0.76[7]

    12374 Rakhat, provisional designation 1994 JG9, is an eccentric, stony asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 15 May 1994, by American astronomer and software engineer Charles de Saint-Aignan at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in California.[8]

    Orbital diagram

    The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.8–3.3 AU once every 4 years and 1 month (1,487 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.31 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] The first precovery was taken at Palomar Observatory in 1954, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 40 years prior to its discovery.[8]

    A rotational light-curve was obtained from photometric observations made at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory in May 2010. It gave a rotation period of 18.1702±0.0205 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.31 in magnitude (U=2).[6] According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 4.6 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.21,[4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 4.4 kilometers.[3]

    The minor planet was named "Rakhat" after the fictional planet in the novel The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.[2] The novel begins in 2019, when SETI at the Arecibo, picks up radio broadcasts of music from this planet in the vicinity of Alpha Centauri. The first expedition is organized by the Jesuit order, known for its missionary, linguistic and scientific activities. The novel was followed by the sequel Children of God. Naming citation was published on 28 March 2002 (M.P.C. 45234).[9]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 12374 Rakhat (1994 JG9)" (2016-11-10 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (12374) Rakhat. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. pp. 780–781. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (12374) Rakhat". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; Bauer, J.; Tholen, D.; et al. (November 2011). "NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 25. arXiv:1109.6407Freely accessible. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...90M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/90. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
    5. 1 2 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096Freely accessible. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
    6. 1 2 3 Waszczak, Adam; Chang, Chan-Kao; Ofek, Eran O.; Laher, Russ; Masci, Frank; Levitan, David; et al. (September 2015). "Asteroid Light Curves from the Palomar Transient Factory Survey: Rotation Periods and Phase Functions from Sparse Photometry". The Astronomical Journal. 150 (3): 35. arXiv:1504.04041Freely accessible. Bibcode:2015AJ....150...75W. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/150/3/75. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
    7. ↑ Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 - Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762Freely accessible. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
    8. 1 2 "12374 Rakhat (1994 JG9)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
    9. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 19 May 2016.

    External links

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